gridlocked

adjective

grid·​locked ˈgrid-ˌläkt How to pronounce gridlocked (audio)
: 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 Live traffic cameras also showed a large emergency vehicle response blocking all eastbound travel lanes near the crash site and a string of gridlocked traffic leading up to the shut-down stretch of I-40 East. Joe Sutton, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024 That 1870 law was repealed long ago, and there’s almost no chance the current, gridlocked Congress would pass implementing legislation now. David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2024 The strike on three campuses began Monday after nearly a year of gridlocked contract negotiations. Jay Croft, CNN, 15 Apr. 2023 Thatcherism arose in response to the Winter of Discontent in 1978–79, when the Labour Party could not govern a gridlocked society or tame unreasonable unions. Phil Tinline, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022 The company aims to build a network of high-speed tunnels near some of America’s most gridlocked cities. Faiz Siddiqui, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024 There’s little evidence that America’s gridlocked political system is capable of such a straightforward debate. David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2024 Because a broader data privacy bill remains gridlocked to death on Capitol Hill, Congress now has these offshoot measures aimed specifically at children, according to Cantwell. Matt Laslo, WIRED, 22 Dec. 2023 Gold prices added 4%, 13% and 5%, respectively, during the three times the Congress became gridlocked. Hardika Singh, WSJ, 7 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gridlocked.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gridlocked was in 1980

Dictionary Entries Near gridlocked

Cite this Entry

“Gridlocked.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gridlocked. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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