cul-de-sac
a street, lane, etc., closed at one end; blind alley; dead-end street.
any situation in which further progress is impossible.
the hemming in of a military force on all sides except behind.
Anatomy. a saclike cavity, tube, or the like, open only at one end, as the cecum.
Origin of cul-de-sac
1Words Nearby cul-de-sac
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cul-de-sac in a sentence
Surrounded by inert goods, we felt hemmed in, pushed toward a lifestyle cul-de-sac.
In other words, Todd Akin did not stumble his way into his cul-de-sac.
Akin's Abortion View: More Widespread in GOP Than You Think | David Frum | August 20, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen a slug is encouraged to slime its way down a narrow cul-de-sac, how does it beat a retreat?
On the set, a hole was dug in the middle of a cul-de-sac, surrounded by dilapidated clay houses overlooking a shady canyon.
This doesn't mean we scare the hell out of kids with gruesome stories of the monster lurking at the end of the cul de sac.
He feared that he would either be shot or left to starve in this cul-de-sac in the hills.
Hidden Gold | Wilder AnthonyIt was not the kind of cul-de-sac that Goritz would have chosen.
The Secret Witness | George GibbsGradually a distant line of pack, which had been visible for some time, closed in and the ship ran into a cul-de-sac.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas MawsonTo enter the little Cafe in the cul-de-sac Le Febvre was, at the period of our tale, to enter the sanctum of a man of genius.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe | Edgar Allan PoeHe stepped up his pace slightly, and in a moment they turned abruptly into a darkened cul-de-sac.
The Dark Door | Alan Edward Nourse
British Dictionary definitions for cul-de-sac
/ (ˈkʌldəˌsæk, ˈkʊl-) /
a road with one end blocked off; dead end
an inescapable position
any tube-shaped bodily cavity or pouch closed at one end, such as the caecum
Origin of cul-de-sac
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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