Question

During World War I,
was the term widely used to describe a state of war in which neither side was winning or gaining an advantage.

Answer 1

Yes. The word "stalemate" (and related terms like "deadlock" or "impasse") was widely used during and after World War I to describe the prolonged situation—especially on the Western Front—where neither side could secure a decisive, lasting advantage. Contemporary newspapers, soldiers, and military commentators commonly called trench warfare a stalemate. Historians also often describe the conflict as a war of attrition, a related concept emphasizing gradual wear rather than rapid maneuver. (That said, the war did see periodic offensives and eventual breakthroughs — most notably in 1918 — so it was not literally static for the entire period.)