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 where processes need exclusive access to resources, such as memory or files, and leads to a standstill where none of the processes can continue. To resolve a deadlock, various strategies can be employed, including resource allocation algorithms or timeout mechanisms. These methods aim to detect and break the deadlock by forcing one or more processes to release their resources, allowing the system to continue functioning effectively.