dead-end

adjective

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\ ˈded-ˌend

Definition of dead-end

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : lacking opportunities especially for advancement a dead-end job

b : lacking an exit a dead-end street

2 : unruly dead-end kids

dead-end

verb

\ ˈded-ˈend

dead-ended; dead-ending; dead-ends

Definition of dead-end (Entry 2 of 3)

intransitive verb

: to come to a dead end : terminate the road dead-ends at the lake the investigation dead-ended

dead end

noun

\ ˈded-ˈend

Definition of dead end (Entry 3 of 3)

1 : an end (as of a street) without an exit

2 : a position, situation, or course of action that leads to nothing further

Other Words from dead-end Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More About dead-end

Examples of dead-end in a Sentence

Noun We came to a dead end and had to turn around. My career has hit a dead end.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Each time someone has tried to crack the code, it's led to a dead end. — Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY, 21 July 2022 After a 90-degree turn over a box-girder bridge, this optional diversion runs six miles up a side canyon to another dead end. — Dan Edmunds, Car and Driver, 29 Apr. 2022 In the exhibition and its accompanying catalogue, Watkins and his co-authors made a persuasive case that Crivelli’s often weird and gnarly works should not be seen, as Berenson saw them, as a creative dead end. — Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 9 June 2022 Did the United States lead Ukraine down a dead end? — Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 25 Feb. 2022 Much like his aspiration of entering the operating room, Segura hit a dead end in his career as a rapper. — Derek Scancarelli, Forbes, 15 June 2022 His government hosted initial rounds of diplomatic talks between Moscow and Kyiv, but those discussions appear to have hit a dead end even as the war bogs down. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 20 May 2022 There was only the dead end of the commune, or the default of the corporation. — Benjamin Kunkel, The New Republic, 14 June 2022 Only a tiny sprinkling of upscale houses break up the forest along Prattling Pond Road, a dead end. — Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dead-end.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.