gridlocked

adjective

grid·​locked ˈgrid-ˌläkt How to pronounce gridlocked (audio)
: affected by gridlock : brought to a state in which movement or progress is stopped completely
gridlocked streets
a gridlocked legislature
The Phoenix of 1996 has terrible air, gridlocked traffic, and spreads out in so many directions that it seems to lack any sense of order.Timothy Egan
… the notion of an incompetent, gridlocked government is still embedded in the national consciousness.Andrew Sullivan

Examples of gridlocked in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But law-abiding tourists, residents and business owners will be impacted, too, as the city's entertainment district begins its annual transformation into a gridlocked, barricaded zone flooded with police. Martin Vassolo, Axios, 12 Feb. 2025 In addition to the dangers posed by Federal Reserve tightening, there are also ongoing geopolitical threats in Russia, Iran and elsewhere, the lingering threat of new Covid strains, and a gridlocked Congress where deals on raising the debt ceiling and other key issues could be hard to come by. Cnbc Pro Staff, CNBC, 4 Feb. 2025 The couple had barely escaped the devastating 2018 Camp fire that killed 85 — while they were stuck trying to flee on gridlocked roads, propane tanks exploded on nearby properties and ash rained from the sky. Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2025 As the flames pushed closer to the gridlocked streets, some people frantically decided that their best option was to flee on foot in a city where walking is rarely one’s first choice. Isabelle Taft, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gridlocked

Word History

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gridlocked was in 1980

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Cite this Entry

“Gridlocked.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gridlocked. Accessed 28 Feb. 2025.

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