deadlock, dead end, impasse, stalemate, standstill (noun)

a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible

"reached an impasse on the negotiations"

deadlock (Noun)

A standstill resulting from the opposition of two evenly matched forces; a stalemate or impasse

deadlock (Noun)

An inability to continue due to two programs or devices each requiring a response from the other before completing an operation

deadlock (Verb)

to cause or to come to a deadlock

Deadlock

A deadlock is a situation in which two or more competing actions are each waiting for the other to finish, and thus neither ever does. In computer science a deadly embrace is a deadlock involving exactly two competing actions. It is a term more commonly used in Europe. Outside of computer science a deadly embrace is a deadlock involving exactly two competing actions tending toward some form of tragedy, for example, mutual death or mutual extinction. In an operating system, a deadlock is a situation which occurs when a process or thread enters a waiting state because a resource requested is being held by another waiting process, which in turn is waiting for another resource. If a process is unable to change its state indefinitely because the resources requested by it are being used by another waiting process, then the system is said to be in a deadlock. Deadlock is a common problem in multiprocessing systems, parallel computing and distributed systems, where software and hardware locks are used to handle shared resources and implement process synchronization. In telecommunication systems, deadlocks occur mainly due to lost or corrupt signals instead of resource contention.

Deadlock

In concurrent computing, deadlock is any situation in which no member of some group of entities can proceed because each waits for another member, including itself, to take action, such as sending a message or, more commonly, releasing a lock. Deadlocks are a common problem in multiprocessing systems, parallel computing, and distributed systems, because in these contexts systems often use software or hardware locks to arbitrate shared resources and implement process synchronization.In an operating system, a deadlock occurs when a process or thread enters a waiting state because a requested system resource is held by another waiting process, which in turn is waiting for another resource held by another waiting process. If a process remains indefinitely unable to change its state because resources requested by it are being used by another process that itself is waiting, then the system is said to be in a deadlock.In a communications system, deadlocks occur mainly due to loss or corruption of signals rather than contention for resources.