deadline

B1 Topic:Time

US /ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/ See IPA manual

Freq #7000

Meanings

1

noun
A time or date by which something must be finished.

The deadline for the project is next Friday.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a time or date by which... closing date

Word family

Forms deadlines

Derived forms deadlinerpostdeadlinesubdeadline

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

A deadline is a deadline

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, early usage refers to lines that do not move, such as one used in angling. Slightly later American usage refers to a boundary in a prison which prisoners must not cross. There is only indirect evidence that the sense of "due date" may be connected with this use of the term in prison camps during the American Civil War, when it referred to a physical line or boundary beyond which prisoners were shot. In 1904, in a report from the US Department of Commerce and Labor, the term is used for "minimum work goals" (and in contrast to bonus line): for example…

Topics

Time

External links

# deadline

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/
**Frequency rank:** 7000

## Meanings
1. A time or date by which something must be finished.

## Examples
- The deadline for the project is next Friday.

## Derived Forms
- deadliner
- postdeadline
- subdeadline

## Etymology
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, early usage refers to lines that do not move, such as one used in angling. Slightly later American usage refers to a boundary in a prison which prisoners must not cross. There is only indirect evidence that the sense of "due date" may be connected with this use of the term in prison camps during the American Civil War, when it referred to a physical line or boundary beyond which prisoners were shot. In 1904, in a report from the US Department of Commerce and Labor, the term is used for "minimum work goals" (and in contrast to bonus line): for example…

## AI Etymology
deadline according to the Oxford English Dictionary, early usage refers to lines that do not move, such as one used in angling. Slightly later American usage refers to a boundary in a prison which prisoners must not cross. There is only indirect evidence that the sense of "due date" may be connected with this use of the term in prison camps during the American Civil War, when it referred to a physical line or boundary beyond which prisoners were shot. The current sense is A time or date by which something must be finished. English relatives and later formations include deadliner, postdeadline, subdeadline.

## Topics
- Time

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