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deadline

deadline

490 1.8
A time by which something must be finished
  • noun
  • /ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/
translation icon : fecha límite
  • The submission deadline for the project is next Friday at 5 PM.
  • submission deadline
  • meet the deadline
  • entry deadline

I plan to get this done one week after the deadline, OK?

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Examples

  • Applications are now being accepted; the deadline to apply is 1 May 2011.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Yes, but there are still three days before the deadline.

  • So we have a lot to catch up on and our deadline is so soon.

  • And when exactly is the deadline for that to happen?

  • But I have this very serious deadline that my boss gave me.

  • I think the deadline is August 1 st.

  • Again, none of the materials released by the deadline for this journal provided such information.

    Academic text (1999)
  • So will he now finally agree to extend the deadline for EU citizens?

  • We miss that deadline, we lose the liver.

  • Actually, it's the deadline for securing sponsorship for the forthcoming Formula One season.

Synonyms

time limit
vsdeadline
35 2.7

A set time by which you must finish something

is a specific moment by which the task must be finished
due date
vsdeadline
21 2.6

The date when you must pay something

is any required moment for finishing or submitting tasks, not only payments

Compounds

A short time to finish a task

deadline fighter
  • Informal
5.5

A person who works best under pressure to meet tight deadlines

How Urgent

deadline
490 1.8
due date
21 2.6

Surface Forms

deadline singular
deadlines plural

Morphology

deadline = dead + line (opaque) = dead + line

Although historically a compound 'dead' + 'line', the modern meaning 'time limit' is an idiomatic extension not directly derivable from the literal senses of the components.

Etymology

The word deadline comes from the parts dead and line. It first meant a 'line' around prison camps people must not cross or they could be killed, so the word now means a strict time limit you must meet.