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
Key members of Mayor Adams’ staff, including Deputy Mayor Kaz Daughtry, ultimately helped finalize the deal after union leaders and the city’s Office of Labor Relations reached an impasse over pay and demands that sergeants start working 12-hour tours.
—Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2025
To break the impasse, the Speaker floated creating a conference committee with the Senate to hash out their differences, or adding an amendment to the budget resolution — two ideas that would throw a wrench into GOP leadership’s ambitious timeline to get a package to Trump’s desk.
—Mychael Schnell, The Hill, 10 Apr. 2025
Case history in brief She was tried last year on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing death, but that ended in mistrial on July 1, 2024, after the jury reached an impasse.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
The vote has thrown the House into disarray and paralyzed the chamber, leaving Johnson to find a way to break the impasse.
—Lauren Peller, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
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Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2025
To break the impasse, the Speaker floated creating a conference committee with the Senate to hash out their differences, or adding an amendment to the budget resolution — two ideas that would throw a wrench into GOP leadership’s ambitious timeline to get a package to Trump’s desk.
—Mychael Schnell, The Hill, 10 Apr. 2025
Case history in brief She was tried last year on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of an accident causing death, but that ended in mistrial on July 1, 2024, after the jury reached an impasse.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 3 Apr. 2025
The vote has thrown the House into disarray and paralyzed the chamber, leaving Johnson to find a way to break the impasse.
—Lauren Peller, ABC News, 3 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 25 Apr. 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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