Whether we work in an IT company or an 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 words “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 meanings!
What does “dateline” mean?
A “dateline” refers to a line in a newspaper or news article that shows the date and place of publication. It usually appears at the beginning of a news story and looks something like this:
Unless you work in journalism, publishing or news media, you probably will not use the word “dateline” very often in your daily work.
What does “deadline” mean?
On the other hand, a “deadline” refers to a date and/or time by which you must complete a task. Usually for us, this means work tasks, project submissions or client deliverables. Some common examples are:
“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
So, if your boss or client is waiting for something from you, you are almost always talking about a deadline, not a dateline.
Real examples of dateline mistakes
The following screenshots show real examples from some of the email correspondences I’ve seen where “dateline” is used incorrectly when “deadline” is the correct word:
Which one to use?
If you are still confused, well… you can try to think of this:
You are DEAD if you miss your deadline!
If that’s not “motivating” enough, just imagine your boss’s or clients’ angry faces! ;)
I hope this clears up the confusion for you. Seen a colleague or friend who often makes this kind of mistake? Share this post with them! Check out other similar articles “Login vs. Log in” and “Response Vs. Respond”.
