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.
Meanwhile, the cul de sac, a street design much in favor with the architects of suburban developments, have become artificial catchments for these highly flammable weeds.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
It’s the sesquicentennial of Western Australia, and everyone on Tony and Judy’s cul de sac is excited.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2024
It’s not clear yet whether this drive-in phenomenon is a cul de sac from which we will reverse later this year or a permanent change in the way we consume culture.
From The Guardian • Jun. 22, 2020
We find Salter in an existential funk - a Camus-esque cul de sac in which life seems simply not enough - or perhaps more accurately, too much.
From Washington Times • Nov. 7, 2017
“Now, will you surrender?” he demanded, coming slowly toward her in the cul de sac.
From In Her Own Right by Underwood, Clarence F.
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.
