dead end

dead-end

Use dead end in a sentence

dead end

an end of a street, alley, etc. that has no regular exit
a situation from which there seems no way to escape, move forward, etc.; an impasse

dead-end

having only one exit or outlet: a dead-end street
giving no opportunity for progress or advancement: a dead-end job
Origin of dead-end
after Dead End, a play (1935) by Sidney Kingsley about New York slum life
Informal of or characteristic of slums or slum life

to terminate in a dead end: said as of a street
to reach or come to a dead end: to dead-end in a middle management position

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MLA Style

"dead end." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 11 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEAD-END>.

APA Style

dead end. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEAD-END

dead end

noun

a. An end of a passage, especially a street, that affords no exit.
b. A street or road affording no exit.
A situation or subject that allows for no progress or development.

dead-end

adjective

Having no exit except for going back the way one came.
Permitting no opportunity for progress or advancement: a dead-end job.
Informal Tough and rowdy: a dead-end gang.

intransitive verb

dead-end·ed, dead-end·ing, dead-ends

To terminate with no exit: The road dead-ends at the lake.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"dead end." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 11 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEAD-END>.

APA Style

dead end. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/DEAD-END

Noun

(plural dead ends)

(idiomatic) A path or strategy that goes nowhere or is blocked on one end.
That road comes to a dead end at the lake.

Adjective

(comparative more dead-end, superlative most dead-end)

Going nowhere; blocked.
a dead-end street
a dead-end job

Verb

(third-person singular simple present dead-ends, present participle dead-ending, simple past and past participle dead-ended)

(US) To come to a dead-end
Watch out! The road dead-ends in 200 yards and there's nowhere to turn around!

Noun

(plural dead-ends)

The end of a road, (by extension), the end of any event.
We turned into the street and realised it was a dead-end.
Mary realised her relationship with Jim had hit a dead-end.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.