gridlock

1 of 2

noun

grid·​lock ˈgrid-ˌläk 

1

: a traffic jam in which a grid of intersecting streets is so completely congested that no vehicular movement is possible

2

: a situation resembling gridlock (as in congestion or lack of movement)

political gridlock

gridlock

2 of 2

verb

gridlocked; gridlocking; gridlocks

transitive + intransitive

: to cause to be in a state or situation in which movement or progress is stopped completely : to produce gridlock in or of

streets gridlocked by heavy traffic

a government gridlocked by partisan rancor

Neighbors of the proposed site near the intersection … told commissioners they were concerned the school would bring hundreds of additional cars to the area, further gridlocking already bumper-to-bumper traffic.

—Kyra Gurney

Almost immediately, heavy rains had gridlocked the narrow supply trail from Siboney on the coast.

—Michael Blow

also : to experience gridlock

This statement came while Congress gridlocked yet again on a campaign finance measure.

—David Corn

Synonyms

Noun

• deadlock
• halt
• impasse
• logjam
• Mexican standoff
• stalemate
• standoff
• standstill

Examples of gridlock in a Sentence

Noun

An accident caused gridlock at rush hour yesterday.

We were caught in a gridlock.

Disagreements about funding have caused legislative gridlock in Congress.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

During his final Senate speech in 2013, ‘Lieberman urged Congress to look beyond party lines and partisan rancor to break Washington gridlock,’ the Associated Press reported. —Edward Segal, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

During his final Senate speech, Lieberman urged Congress to look beyond party lines and partisan rancor to break Washington gridlock. —Susan Haigh, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2024

Considering the gridlock on Capitol Hill, there is little immediate prospect of similar legislation in the United States. —John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

Some of the ideas in the DMA have been replicated in US legislation but have failed to pass amid industry opposition and ordinary congressional gridlock. —Brian Fung, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024

Millions more plan to travel to see it firsthand, fueling a small spending boom and a potential path of gridlock across the country. —Justine McDaniel, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024

Locals who had scoffed at attendance projections were caught off guard when the crowds materialized, causing traffic gridlock and emptying grocery store shelves. —Jenna Russell Greta Rybus, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024

Should spending increases trigger automatic increases to the U.S. debt limit so that political gridlock does not cause the country to default on its debts? —Charlotte Observer, 29 Feb. 2024

The past year tested this intersection within one of our most sacred cultural realms, when the entertainment industry faced the gridlock of stakeholder value and WORTH. —Shelby Stewart, Essence, 6 Feb. 2024

Verb

With so many people, the traffic jam at times slowed to gridlock. —Julie Turkewitz Federico Rios, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023

Thus, his paean to gridlock — we’re saved! —Star Tribune, 13 Nov. 2020

Management’s proposal called for the threshold to be dropped to $180 million, another factor that may gridlock many free agent negotiations. —Ronald Blum, courant.com, 24 Oct. 2021

To view them as part of the landscape, like the Golden Gate Bridge or gridlock on 880. —Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 May 2021

The crowd roared approval at the idea that their movement would gridlock the city if jurors hearing the case against former police officer Derek Chauvin failed to convict him in Floyd's death. —Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 25 Apr. 2021

That policy change, according to mailing and logistics experts, would gridlock the entire postal network. —Anchorage Daily News, 25 Feb. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1981, in the meaning defined above