1
a
: lacking opportunities especially for advancement
a dead-end job
b
: lacking an exit
a dead-end street
2
: unruly
dead-end kids
dead-ended; dead-ending; dead-ends
: to come to a dead end : terminate
the road dead-ends at the lake
the investigation dead-ended
1
: an end (as of a street) without an exit
2
: a position, situation, or course of action that leads to nothing further
Examples of dead-end in a Sentence
Verb
after several fruitless years, the research seems to have simply dead-ended
Noun
We came to a dead end and had to turn around.
My career has hit a dead end.
Recent Examples on the Web
Rich Karlgaard, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Outdoor space: The home is built on five wooded acres on a quiet dead-end street.
—Michael Kaminer, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2023
Commissioner Andrew Brink said without a street connection to the east, the roundabout effectively will dead-end within the development.
—Stacy Ryburn, Arkansas Online, 14 Mar. 2023
Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2025
The driver arrived at a dead end and reversed into a police vehicle driven by a K9 officer, causing the officer’s airbag to deploy, Márquez said.
—Christian Martinez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dead-end
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Adjective
Nvidia’s graphic processors paired with breakthrough deep learning algorithms from Google and others gave wings to cutting-edge artificial intelligence, which had been an investment dead-end since the 1980s.
—Rich Karlgaard, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Outdoor space: The home is built on five wooded acres on a quiet dead-end street.
—Michael Kaminer, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025
Verb
Where any normal car would need a three-point turn (down yet another dead-end Camden side street, for instance), the taxi simply spins around and goes.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2023
Commissioner Andrew Brink said without a street connection to the east, the roundabout effectively will dead-end within the development.
—Stacy Ryburn, Arkansas Online, 14 Mar. 2023
Noun
The years-long drive to give Florida’s nursery and farm workers landmark health protections from increasingly scorching summer heat appears to have reached a dead end.
—Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2025
The driver arrived at a dead end and reversed into a police vehicle driven by a K9 officer, causing the officer’s airbag to deploy, Márquez said.
—Christian Martinez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dead-end
Cite this Entry
“Dead-end.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dead-end. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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