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dead ends

  • plural
    of dead end.
    dead end
    noun
    something, as a street or water pipe, that has no exit.
dead-ends
  • present tense form
    of dead-end (3rd person singular).
    dead end
    noun
    something, as a street or water pipe, that has no exit.

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.

See Examples For:

Before long, dead ends give way to a digital abyss, pulling them both into something that will alter their perception of reality and the lives of hundreds of others called to follow them.

From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026

Nepali rescuers searched Wednesday for survivors feared trapped inside hydropower tunnels a week after devastating floods, but hopes were fading as teams hit dead ends and no one was confirmed alive.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Police have long said said a lack of cooperation in the case led to dead ends in their investigation.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

“Duvall’s aging face, a road map of dead ends and dry gulches, can accommodate rage or innocence or any ironic shade in between,” the film critic Richard Corliss wrote in Time magazine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026

Distracted by other leads, many of them dead ends, Lieutenant Dana ignored the one tip that placed Lincoln’s assassin within his reach.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

But the tips and leads they received led to dead-ends, and so the case remained unsolved for 47 years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2025

However, pharmaceutical companies want to recover their years of research and development costs - and the field has produced a lot of expensive duds and dead-ends.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2024

Podcasts such as The Coldest Case in Laramie and Bear Brook detail twists and turns in who-done-it style journalism, exposing dead-ends and biases in investigations that have left possible killers free for decades.

From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2023

In about a half-mile, the plowed road dead-ends.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2022

The asphalt dead-ends, but there’s a gravel driveway heading to the Boy Scout camp.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

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