1
a
: a predicament affording no obvious escape
b
: deadlock
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
In response to an impasse over the issue at a club meeting, the footballers walked out, went down the street to a nearby restaurant, and founded Football-Club Bayern Munchen.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 7 June 2025
Even so, Exodus was at an impasse when Hammett got an unexpected call from Metallica.
—Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
Joe Raedle/Getty Images That impasse lasted about two months before the Sanibel Causeway was restored—an impressively quick turnaround, but not from the perspective of those waiting for it to be fixed.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
But yesterday, the House broke impasse on the tax and immigration overhaul package, sending it on the Senate.
—Ann Rutledge, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
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Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 7 June 2025
Even so, Exodus was at an impasse when Hammett got an unexpected call from Metallica.
—Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
Joe Raedle/Getty Images That impasse lasted about two months before the Sanibel Causeway was restored—an impressively quick turnaround, but not from the perspective of those waiting for it to be fixed.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 May 2025
But yesterday, the House broke impasse on the tax and immigration overhaul package, sending it on the Senate.
—Ann Rutledge, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
Cite this Entry
“Impasse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impasse. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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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