cul-de-sac

American  

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

noun

culs-de-sac plural

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.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• culs-de-sac
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cul-de-sac

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