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
Now the Comcast impasse threatens to keep the White Sox off the air on the largest pay-TV provider in the Chicago market, a potentially devastating blow to the fans, the team and the new regional sports network.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2025
Germany’s political and economic impasse need not result in a future defined by the far right.
—Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2025
Hamas said Egypt and Qatar, which with U.S. support mediated the ceasefire deal that took effect on January 19, had stepped up efforts to break the impasse and the Palestinian militant group's Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, arrived in Cairo for talks.
—James MacKenzie, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2025
Meanwhile, caught between the debt and their tax base, Republicans are considering novel ways to account for the cost of their legislative agenda as a budget cut impasse looks set to hamstring early moves on their tax bill.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
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Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2025
Germany’s political and economic impasse need not result in a future defined by the far right.
—Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2025
Hamas said Egypt and Qatar, which with U.S. support mediated the ceasefire deal that took effect on January 19, had stepped up efforts to break the impasse and the Palestinian militant group's Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, arrived in Cairo for talks.
—James MacKenzie, USA TODAY, 13 Feb. 2025
Meanwhile, caught between the debt and their tax base, Republicans are considering novel ways to account for the cost of their legislative agenda as a budget cut impasse looks set to hamstring early moves on their tax bill.
—Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 5 Feb. 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 25 Mar. 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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