as in halt
a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in
the jury sent a note to the judge that it was hopelessly stuck in a deadlock
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Recent Examples of deadlock
The Avalanche finally broke the scoreless deadlock late in the second when Minnesota turned over the puck behind its own net and Nazem Kadri – acquired at the trade deadline from Calgary – fed a pass to MacKinnon.
—
Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
Anthropic, according to a story in The Atlantic, was particularly concerned about the Pentagon using its technology for this kind of analysis and that its insistence on curtailing that use case was one of the major stumbling blocks to breaking its deadlock with the DOW.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
After a couple of months of deadlock with Board votes reaching a 3-3 tie in Salem’s absence, the Board in January finally broke that deadlock and gave preliminary approval to close Kingsley Elementary School.
—Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Any emotional deadlock with someone close should pass in just hours.
—Magi Helena, Dallas Morning News, 22 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deadlock
Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 8 Mar. 2026
Anthropic, according to a story in The Atlantic, was particularly concerned about the Pentagon using its technology for this kind of analysis and that its insistence on curtailing that use case was one of the major stumbling blocks to breaking its deadlock with the DOW.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 2 Mar. 2026
After a couple of months of deadlock with Board votes reaching a 3-3 tie in Salem’s absence, the Board in January finally broke that deadlock and gave preliminary approval to close Kingsley Elementary School.
—Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Any emotional deadlock with someone close should pass in just hours.
—Magi Helena, Dallas Morning News, 22 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for deadlock
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadlock
Noun
-
The strait remains virtually closed as violence in the region escalates, bringing shipping traffic to a near-halt.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Taylor Frankie Paul‘s turn as the star of The Bachelorette has come to a screeching halt after ABC opted to shelve the premiere.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
As leaders in both parties try to work out a deal to fund DHS, which includes 61,000 TSA employees who have been working without paychecks, there are few signs the impasse will break soon on Capitol Hill before a scheduled recess.—
Danya Gainor,
CNN Money,
22 Mar. 2026
-
Let’s start with the DHS funding impasse.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In the third, a stalemate ensued, with neither team able to muster much.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
22 Mar. 2026
-
In terms of a solution to the shutdown stalemate that has left the Department of Homeland Security unfunded and TSA officers, along with other government workers, unpaid for over a month, the union argued DHS has the money to pay them but has diverted those funds to its other sub-agencies.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deadlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadlock. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
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