logjam

[ lawg-jam, log- ]

noun

1. an immovable pileup or tangle of logs, log, as in a river, causing a blockage.
2. any blockage or massive accumulation:

   a logjam of bills before Congress.

Word History and Origins

Origin of logjam¹

First recorded in 1880–85; log ¹ + jam ¹

Example Sentences

Many importers then quietly used the San Pedro ports to store containers, causing a logjam of ships waiting to berth and gumming up the entire supply chain system.

From Los Angeles Times

The logjam has also undercut efforts to help homeless people who are medically vulnerable, advocates said.

From Los Angeles Times

A supply of permanent housing like the Eaves is needed to prevent a logjam in the hotels and motels where people in the Inside Safe program go after leaving the streets.

From Los Angeles Times

He clearly wanted to break a logjam, after his failure to secure an absolute majority in the National Assembly in June 2022.

From BBC

As Alan reported last week, the portrait that has emerged so far is that of an industrious but inexperienced and often insecure judge whose reluctance to rule decisively even on minor matters has permitted one of the country’s most important criminal cases to become bogged down in a logjam of unresolved issues.

From New York Times

Related Words

• lag
• moratorium
• postponement
• problem
• setback
• stoppage
• suspension
• wait