dead end
something, as a street or water pipe, that has no exit.
a position that offers no hope of progress; blind alley; cul-de-sac: His theory led him to a dead end.
Origin of dead end
1Words Nearby dead end
Other definitions for dead-end (2 of 2)
terminating in a dead end: a dead-end street.
Also dead-ended. having no possibility for or hope of progress, advancement, etc.: a low-level, dead-end job.
leading a life in the slums: growing up as a tough dead-end kid.
to come to a dead end: The road dead-ends at the lake.
Origin of dead-end
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use dead end in a sentence
While AI algorithms can be optimized for current computers, they’re likely to hit a dead end when it comes to efficiency.
This ‘Quantum Brain’ Would Mimic Our Own to Speed Up AI | Shelly Fan | February 9, 2021 | Singularity HubBreak the grammar with too many mutations, or mutations in critical spots, and the virus will no longer be able to enter a cell and replicate, and will reach an evolutionary dead end.
A Language AI Is Accurately Predicting Covid-19 ‘Escape’ Mutations | Shelly Fan | January 19, 2021 | Singularity HubYou’d have to subpoena bank records and lawyers, as well as human sources, and even then you frequently hit a dead end.
A quietly passed law cracks down on shell companies to combat corruption | Rachel Schallom | January 10, 2021 | FortuneThe bulk of these mistakes are meaningless—false starts and dead ends—that have no impact on humans.
The COVID-19 Virus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Vaccines? | Alice Park | January 7, 2021 | TimeBy taking her smell loss seriously, getting a rapid test and self-isolating, she created a dead end for the virus, breaking the transmission chain before the virus could spread to anyone else.
Daily DIY Sniff Checks Could Catch Many Cases Of COVID-19 | LGBTQ-Editor | December 17, 2020 | No Straight News
We are at a dead end in a meaningless war, and we are paying the bill for this fighting every day.
Local Truces Are Syria’s Sad Little Pieces of Peace | Joshua Hersh | November 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor years he seemed well on his way to a professional dead end, or worse.
“My personal life had basically reached a dead end and the pressures on me were intolerable,” he says.
After lightly interrogating a couple of the delivery boys at Afghan Brothers, we realized we had hit a dead end.
But the pleasures of vengeance and hedonism prove a dead end for Wanda.
Holocaust Horrors Haunt the Films ‘Ida’ And ‘The German Doctor’ | Jack Schwartz | May 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEventually the rift widened a little, and they came to a dead end, beyond which lay the cave.
The Marooner | Charles A. StearnsIt was like running though a maze of twisty little passages, all alike, every one leading to the same dead end.
Little Brother | Cory DoctorowHe ate it quickly, then sat brooding over the empty tray, hating to admit to another dead end.
Deathworld | Harry HarrisonThings was going pretty good; but you might guess yours truly couldn't stand the dead end of things.
The Best Short Stories of 1917 | VariousThe Judge threw away the dead end of his cigar, and shouldered his way into the inmost circle.
Golden Stories | Various
British Dictionary definitions for dead end
another name for cul-de-sac
a situation in which further progress is impossible
dead-end (as modifier): a dead-end street; a dead-end job
(intr) mainly US and Canadian to come to a dead end
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with dead end
A passage that has no exit, as in This street's a dead end, so turn back. [Late 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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