cul-de-sac
Americannoun
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a street, lane, etc., closed at one end; blind alley; dead-end street.
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any situation in which further progress is impossible.
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the hemming in of a military force on all sides except behind.
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Anatomy. a saclike cavity, tube, or the like, open only at one end, as the cecum.
noun
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a road with one end blocked off; dead end
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an inescapable position
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any tube-shaped bodily cavity or pouch closed at one end, such as the caecum
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cul-de-sac
1730–40; < French: literally, bottom of the sack
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His mother ran a licensed daycare out of their home, a $1.24 million five-bedroom house on a leafy cul-de-sac.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
It had been a routine day doing ground work for a cul-de-sac in a quiet part of central Nottinghamshire in March 1966, with builders and machine operators looking forward to going home.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
Though the house’s location on a steep slope at the end of a cul-de-sac posed a challenge, the L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2026
The low-slung, ranch-style build is nestled at the end of a peaceful, private cul-de-sac surrounded by equestrian trails.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026
Maxine makes a right turn onto a steep hill,leading us down into a cul-de-sac of houses.
From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
