Deadline Definition

dĕdlīn
deadlines
noun
A time limit, as for payment of a debt or completion of an assignment.
American Heritage
A line around a prison beyond which a prisoner could go only at the risk of being shot by a guard.
Webster's New World
A boundary which it is forbidden to cross.
Webster's New World
The latest time by which something must be done or completed.
A deadline for payment, publication, etc.
Webster's New World

(archaic) A guideline marked on a plate for a printing press.

Wiktionary
verb
To govern by setting a time limit.
American Heritage

(military) To render an item non-mission-capable; to ground an aircraft, etc.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Deadline

Noun

Singular:
deadline
Plural:
deadlines

Origin of Deadline

  • The context of a due date originated in journalism, probably from an earlier usage in printing, representing a guideline marked on a plate for a printing press (inside which all content should appear). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, early usage refers simply to lines that do not move, such as one used in angling; slightly later American usage includes a boundary around a prison which prisoners must not cross.

    From Wiktionary

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