as in halt
a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in
with the White House controlled by one party and Congress by the other, the nation experienced four years of legislative gridlock
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as in to fill
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gridlock
Phan Khang, Mercury News, 1 June 2026
The battlefield gridlock undermines Putin’s declared goal of quickly capturing the eastern Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
Waiting until the last minute can lead to gridlock on the road for you and obstruct first responders trying to get to the active fire zone.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gridlock
Noun
Skip the stress of traffic, save that precious gas money, and avoid parking gridlock by taking VTA to all your FIFA World Cup ™ destinations.
—Phan Khang, Mercury News, 1 June 2026
The battlefield gridlock undermines Putin’s declared goal of quickly capturing the eastern Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control.
—Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Verb
Long lines of vehicles gridlock Indiana 49 as far north as U.S. 12 as visitors from Northwest Indiana and nearby states journey to the park.
—Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
Waiting until the last minute can lead to gridlock on the road for you and obstruct first responders trying to get to the active fire zone.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gridlock
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gridlock
Noun
-
The Huskies got a run back in the fifth and had two men on base with nobody out in the seventh when the rain brought things to a halt.—
Dave Wright,
Twin Cities,
11 June 2026
-
Ukraine's successes have highlighted its ability to inflict painful damage on Russia and change the course of the conflict while Moscow’s advances recently have ground to a near halt.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
The front entrance is teeming with a few dozen people, filled with colorful artwork and a TV monitor showing old video of a train that used to run through the property.—
David Wade,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
-
Instead of a sea of Chiefs red, the stands were filled with Argentine blue and white.—
Travis Heying,
Kansas City Star,
18 June 2026
Noun
-
Beyond the deadlock over the strait, the two sides also remain at odds over Iran’s nuclear program.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
The objective was to break the diplomatic deadlock in talks to reach an interim peace agreement and support Hezbollah.—
Abbas Al Lawati,
CNN Money,
10 June 2026
Verb
-
Carlin Karr, director of wine and beverage at Stuckey’s restaurants — including Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder — believes roughly 1 in 10 wine bottles are off in taste, or corked.—
Jeremy Harlan,
CNN Money,
16 July 2025
-
Public opposition to the fee helped cork the proposal.—
Sarah Scoles,
JSTOR Daily,
11 June 2025
Noun
-
The Virginia Democrat questioned the White House's seriousness about the impasse, noting that the House has already left Washington and would be unable to approve an extension at this hour.—
Kathryn Watson,
CBS News,
11 June 2026
-
Its passage breaks a monthslong partisan impasse in Congress over immigration policy.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
10 June 2026
Verb
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But the estuary, which had been silting up since the 11th century, had different ideas.—
Rob Crossan,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Mar. 2026
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The rock was originally silt on the seafloor that, it's argued, hosted early microbial life that was buried by more silt, leaving the carbon as their remains.—
Howard Lee,
ArsTechnica,
11 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Things were at a standstill as cars filed into certain lane changes, one for through traffic, and others for parking.—
Mike Sullivan,
CBS News,
16 June 2026
-
Early in the war, Iranian attacks on ships brought traffic in the crucial waterway — through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the conflict — to a near standstill.—
Jon Gambrell,
Chicago Tribune,
15 June 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors said Sit and Liu were packed and ready to flee when officers arrested them in June 2025.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
-
The schedule is packed, especially considering the game is played at a faster pace than even a decade ago.—
Nick Friedell,
New York Times,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Gridlock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gridlock. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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