cul-de-sac

American  

[kuhl-duh-sak, -sak, kool-, kyd^uh-sak] / ˈkʌl dəˈsæk, -ˌsæk, ˈkʊl-, küdəˈsak /

noun

plural

culs-de-sac

1. a street, lane, etc., closed at one end; blind alley; dead-end street.

2. any situation in which further progress is impossible.

3. the hemming in of a military force on all sides except behind.

4. Anatomy. a saclike cavity, tube, or the like, open only at one end, as the cecum.

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cul-de-sac British  

/ ˈkʌldəˌsæk, ˈkʊl- /

noun

1. a road with one end blocked off; dead end

2. an inescapable position

3. any tube-shaped bodily cavity or pouch closed at one end, such as the caecum

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Etymology

Origin of cul-de-sac

1730–40; < French: literally, bottom of the sack

Example Sentences

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

Many end up churning through jobs or finding themselves stuck in a career cul-de-sac.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

This wrenching documentary takes place on a Florida cul-de-sac where kids play outside from dawn till dusk.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

The property is also located at the end of a cul-de-sac, ensuring ample privacy.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 2, 2026

At the end of its own cul-de-sac, it was a large modern house of the “architectural” sort, bleached cedar, its split levels and asymmetrical terraces self-consciously bare.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt