A deadlock is a situation in computing where two or more processes cannot proceed because each is waiting for the other to release a resource. This can occur in systems that manage multiple tasks, such as operating systems or database management systems, leading to a standstill where none of the involved processes can continue their execution. To resolve a deadlock, various strategies can be employed, including resource allocation algorithms, timeouts, or process termination. Understanding deadlocks is crucial for developers and system administrators to ensure efficient resource management and maintain system performance, especially in environments with high concurrency, like multithreading or distributed systems.