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
If the impasse continues, Liverpool will have a big decision to make.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Here’s what to know about where U.S.-China trade talks stand and how experts characterize the impasse:
What is the Trump administration saying about U.S.-China trade talks?
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 24 Apr. 2025
Tedford said that in order to break the impasse, Trump may need to either reduce tariffs on China or agree to Beijing’s request for lower-level talks with a specific administration representative.
—Alex Gangitano, The Hill, 24 Apr. 2025
Unlike last year, when a contract impasse lasted until the first day of training camp, the quarterback’s contract situation was not hanging over the organization.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
James Pearce, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Here’s what to know about where U.S.-China trade talks stand and how experts characterize the impasse:
What is the Trump administration saying about U.S.-China trade talks?
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 24 Apr. 2025
Tedford said that in order to break the impasse, Trump may need to either reduce tariffs on China or agree to Beijing’s request for lower-level talks with a specific administration representative.
—Alex Gangitano, The Hill, 24 Apr. 2025
Unlike last year, when a contract impasse lasted until the first day of training camp, the quarterback’s contract situation was not hanging over the organization.
—Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 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 6 May. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share