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
My role is to ensure we’re aligned on purpose, step in when there’s a true strategic impasse and support the development of strong leaders.
—Mike Ott, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Advertisement For now, the two sides are at an impasse, and neither appears eager to budge.
—Nik Popli, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
In Pennsylvania, lawmakers have still not broken out of the impasse, spelling financial distress for schools and counties that rely particularly heavily on state funding.
—Isabella Volmert, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025
Big names in new places Just last season, the Colorado Avalanche reached an impasse with their leading scorer, star forward Mikko Rantanen, who was in the final year of his contract with the team.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for impasse
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Mike Ott, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Advertisement For now, the two sides are at an impasse, and neither appears eager to budge.
—Nik Popli, Time, 18 Sep. 2025
In Pennsylvania, lawmakers have still not broken out of the impasse, spelling financial distress for schools and counties that rely particularly heavily on state funding.
—Isabella Volmert, Fortune, 16 Sep. 2025
Big names in new places Just last season, the Colorado Avalanche reached an impasse with their leading scorer, star forward Mikko Rantanen, who was in the final year of his contract with the team.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 13 Sep. 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 24 Sep. 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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