gridlocked

adjective

grid·​locked ˈgrid-ˌläkt 

: affected by gridlock : brought to a state in which movement or progress is stopped completely

gridlocked streets

a gridlocked legislature

The Phoenix of 1996 has terrible air, gridlocked traffic, and spreads out in so many directions that it seems to lack any sense of order.

—Timothy Egan

… the notion of an incompetent, gridlocked government is still embedded in the national consciousness.

—Andrew Sullivan

Examples of gridlocked in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After successfully navigating the gridlocked parking lot, the siblings were stopped for a brief crowd control wait in the entrance before making their way to the ordering lines. —Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025

Traveling the open road can be a peaceful journey—or a gridlocked nightmare. —Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2025

The trailer, which debuted earlier this week, throws viewers directly into the fire, with gridlocked highways and towering flames threatening to engulf them all. —Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 1 Aug. 2025

But gridlocked roads were reported all over Maui Tuesday afternoon and evening, as people sought higher ground in case the waves proved deadly. —Martha Ross, Mercury News, 30 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gridlocked

• overstocked
• balked
• blocked
• chalked
• clocked
• cocked
• docked
• flocked
• hawked
• knocked
• locked
• mocked