1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
an impossible impasse in which accepting a pardon meant admitting guilt
b
: deadlock
Negotiations are at an impasse.
2
: an impassable road or way : cul-de-sac
Examples of impasse in a Sentence
The players are poised to strike after Thursday's games because they believe, with good reason, that if no agreement is reached by the end of the post-season, the owners will declare an impasse …
—
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Murray Chass, New York Times, 9 Aug. 1994
We seem to have been forced into an impasse. We need to understand why space-time singularities have the structures that they appear to have; but space-time singularities are regions where our understanding of physics has reached its limits.
—Roger Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, 1989
I think the civil rights movement in its early and middle years offered the best way out of America's racial impasse: in this society, race must not be a source of advantage or disadvantage for anyone.
—Shelby Steele, Harper's, June 1988
An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.
She had reached an impasse in her career.
Recent Examples on the Web
But Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate find themselves at a familiar impasse, bitterly divided over which approach to take.
—Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
The collapse of the deal leaves Congress, now on a two-week spring break, with no easy way out of the impasse that has put the Homeland Security Department into a shutdown since mid-February.
—Stephen Groves, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
The House and Senate ended the week by passing vastly different bills, creating a new impasse as lawmakers leave Washington for a two-week recess.
—Kevin Freking, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2026
The Senate’s deal was designed to overcome a month-long impasse with Democrats over immigration agencies’ deportation policies, with Democrats demanding strict reforms and restrictions on ICE in exchange for funding.
—Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impasse
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Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
The collapse of the deal leaves Congress, now on a two-week spring break, with no easy way out of the impasse that has put the Homeland Security Department into a shutdown since mid-February.
—Stephen Groves, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
The House and Senate ended the week by passing vastly different bills, creating a new impasse as lawmakers leave Washington for a two-week recess.
—Kevin Freking, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2026
The Senate’s deal was designed to overcome a month-long impasse with Democrats over immigration agencies’ deportation policies, with Democrats demanding strict reforms and restrictions on ICE in exchange for funding.
—Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
impasse
noun
im·passe
ˈim-ˌpas, im-ˈpas 
: a point in especially labor negotiations at which reaching an agreement is impossible because neither party is willing to compromise or change position
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