logjam

/ˈlɒɡdʒæm/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈlɔːɡdʒæm/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈlȯg-ˌjam ˈläg-/ (ame, mw)

logjam — noun

  • logjamsingular
  • logjamsplural

1. a situation where people who disagree cannot move forward, so nothing gets decid

1.名詞C1
釋義

a situation where people who disagree cannot move forward, so nothing gets decided or done until someone finds a way out.

例句

Talks between the drivers and the bus company reached a logjam over weekend pay.

a logjam over [the disputed issue]

Tariq spent three days trying to break the logjam between the two angry neighbours.

break the logjam (find a way past a deadlock)

同義詞
  • deadlock

    very close in meaning; stresses that two sides are stuck and neither will give way

  • impasse

    more formal; a point where no progress is possible at all

  • backlog

    focuses on a pile of unfinished work waiting, rather than a disagreement

反義詞
  • breakthrough

    a moment when a stuck situation suddenly starts moving forward

文法句型

a logjam over + noun

break / end the logjam

用法筆記

Often paired with verbs of resolving (break, clear, end) or with the preposition 'over' naming the disputed issue. Distinguish from sense 2: this is a figurative blockage of talks, plans, or work, not real logs in water.

常見錯誤

❌We had a logjam with traffic on the bridge this morning.
✅We had a traffic jam on the bridge this morning.
💡for blocked cars use 'traffic jam'; 'logjam' is about a deadlock in talks, plans, or work.

2. a thick pile of cut tree trunks floating close together on a river, so packed th

2.名詞C2
釋義

a thick pile of cut tree trunks floating close together on a river, so packed that the water and the wood can no longer pass.

例句

A huge logjam formed where the river narrowed below Sahil's wooden cabin.

a logjam forms where a river narrows

Workers used a long pole to free the logjam blocking the fast mountain stream.

free / clear a logjam in water

同義詞
  • blockage

    general word for anything stopping flow; not specific to floating logs

  • jam

    shorter and broader; a logjam is one specific kind of jam, made of timber in water

文法句型

a logjam on / in + river

用法筆記

Literal sense from river logging, where floated timber jams together. Usually appears with 'on' or 'in' a river or stream, and with verbs like form, free, or clear. Now far less common than the figurative deadlock sense 1.