deadline
/ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/noun, verb
deadline is spelled D-E-A-D-L-I-N-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, deadline means “A time limit in the form of a date on or before which something must be completed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of deadline is deadlines.
How many letters and syllables are in deadline?
| Letters | 8: D-E-A-D-L-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 5,878th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is deadline?
Deadline appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 5,878th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce deadline?
- /ˈdɛdˌlaɪn/
Deadline has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-deadline.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of deadline
- deadlines plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- deadlining participle, present
- deadlined participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does deadline mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A time limit in the form of a date on or before which something must be completed.
I must make this deadline or my boss will kill me!
- 2
archaicA guideline marked on a plate for a printing press.
- 3
archaicA line that does not move.
- 4
archaicA boundary around a prison, prisoners crossing which would be shot.
verb
- 1
To render an item non-mission-capable; to ground an aircraft, etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Deadline in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense date on or before which something must be completed:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | date butoir, date limite, échéance |
| German | Stichtag, Frist, Termin, Deadline |
| Portuguese | prazo final, data-limite, prazo-limite |
| Spanish | plazo, expiración/caducidad de/del plazo, data límite/tope, dedlain |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does deadline come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).