Whether we work in an IT company or advertising agency, we all have targeted dates to complete a certain task. More often than not, we tend to get mixed up when using the word “deadline” and “dateline”. The confusion here stems from the fact that those two words sound very similar.
My oh my, these two words have completely different meaning! A “dateline” refers to a line in a newspaper or news article that indicates the date and place of publishing. It looks like this:
On the other hand, a “deadline” refers to a date and/or time by which you need to complete a task. Usually for us, this means work-related assignments.
“Hey, I need this done by noon.” —> Deadline by time
“The deadline for submitting your application is 8th January 2021.” —> Deadline by date
“All bids must be submitted by 9:00 AM, 16th January 2021.” —> Deadline by date and time
Here are more real examples of how the word “dateline” is wrongly used when the correct word should be “deadline”:
So, you would normally use “deadline” unless you work in the journalism/publishing industry. If you are still confused, well… you can try to think of this:
You are DEAD if you don’t complete something in time.
And, to amplify the whole situation, think of your boss’ or clients’ angry faces! ;)
