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

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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 With Rebe's being a dead end, Samu takes off with Ari to continue the search. — Olivia Truffaut-wong, refinery29.com, 22 June 2021 While on a routine patrol, police observed Land enter a vehicle and turn the lights off when police approached driving to the dead end of a street. — Steve Sadin, chicagotribune.com, 21 June 2021 When the couple pulled up to their house, at the dead end of the street, no one was around. — Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 7 June 2021 At the dead end that the Wild keeps running into during the playoffs is a wasteland of offenses gone bad. — Sarah Mclellan, Star Tribune, 15 May 2021 The roundabout will connect Appleby Road to the south with an extension connecting what is now a dead end at Plainview Avenue to the north, as well as Rolling Hills. — Stacy Ryburn, Arkansas Online, 3 May 2021 Most important of all, there is finally a public entrance at the corner facing Lake Merritt, which turns what had been a dead end into a dynamic space of connection, visual and physical. — Michael J. Lewis, WSJ, 23 June 2021 In both cases, jet propulsion quickly became a dead end, not least because of the 1973 oil crisis, which rendered thirsty gas turbines unaffordable almost overnight. — Ben Jones, CNN, 8 June 2021 Will their weird biology help extend human life spans, or are those ambitions a dead end? Save this story for later. — Max G. Levy, Wired, 24 May 2021

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.