dead end

¹

noun

1. something, as a street or water pipe, that has no exit.

2. a position that offers no hope of progress; blind alley; cul-de-sac.

   His theory led him to a dead end.

dead-end

²

[ded-end]

adjective

1. terminating in a dead end.

   a dead-end street.

2. Also dead-ended. having no possibility for or hope of progress, advancement, etc..

   a low-level, dead-end job.

3. leading a life in the slums.

   growing up as a tough dead-end kid.

verb (used without object)

1. to come to a dead end.

   The road dead-ends at the lake.

dead end

noun

1. another name for cul-de-sac

2. a situation in which further progress is impossible

3. dead-end. ( as modifier )

   a dead-end street

   a dead-end job

verb

1. (intr) to come to a dead end

Word History and Origins

Origin of dead end¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of dead end²

First recorded in 1885–90

Idioms and Phrases

A passage that has no exit, as in This street's a dead end, so turn back . [Late 1800s]

An impasse or blind alley, allowing no progress to be made. For example, This job is a dead end; I'll never be able to advance . [c. 1920]

Example Sentences

Fighting back tears of frustration, Teller hit one dead end after another.

Read more on Literature

After traveling through miles of tunnels, the rat and the robot came to a dead end.

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Sometimes, the best place you can go is a dead end.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Bill Gates acknowledges potential for many AI investments to be ‘dead ends,’ comparing it to the internet bubble rather than predicting a full collapse.

Read more on Barron's

There is no dead end that isn’t obscuring some secret hatch or hidden door revealed by doing his own research.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• blocked 
• closed