standoff

IPA: stˈændɔf

A device which maintains a fixed distance between two objects, especially between a surface and a sign or electrical wiring.
A deadlocked confrontation between antagonists.

Nonstandard spelling of stand off. [To stand some distance apart from something or someone.]

(military) For use at a distance sufficient from the target to allow defensive fire to be evaded.

Examples of "standoff" in Sentences

To give some perspective on how serious this standoff could be, the Arabic word Taliban means student.
Emery called to say that she and William had delayed the christening once more, over a name standoff this time.
The political opposition has also criticized the government for putting Jamaica into what it calls a standoff over Coke, who is known for his loyalty to the Jamaica Labor Party.
Now, that goes along with sporadic continued violence in the town of Fallujah, and that town has been a trouble spot ever since April when U.S. forces opened fire in what they call the standoff with demonstrators, killing more than 15 and injuring dozens more.
What to watch now: How the new House Speaker handles a trio of defining challenges: The short term standoff over funding the government; the looming budget wars; and pressure from the Tea Party base to extract major "concessions" in exchange for raising the federal debt ceiling.
And the question for the administration is can you make progress in this bigger, long-term standoff over the nuclear program and North Korea's role in the world, its belligerent rhetoric, and resolve this other issue separately, if you will, or if there is linkage, not in a way that then undermines what the president just said.