dead-end

1 of 3

adjective

ˈded-ˌend 

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-endedness

ˌded-ˈen-dəd-nəs 

noun

dead-end

2 of 3

verb

ˈded-ˈend 

dead-ended; dead-ending; dead-ends

intransitive verb

: to come to a dead end : terminate

the road dead-ends at the lake

the investigation dead-ended

dead end

3 of 3

noun

ˈded-ˈend 

1

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

2

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

Synonyms of dead-end

Verb

• end
• stop
• halt
• conclude
• expire
• cease

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

Adjective

Detectives later found the car at a dead-end portion of Northeast 10th Avenue. —Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2026

Hosted by true crime aficionado and legal analyst Nancy Grace, Bloodline Detectives tracks the many ways experts use sites like Ancestry.com or 23andMe to crack dead-end cases. —James Mercadante, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Jan. 2026

Verb

Officers attempted to stop a car believed to be involved in drug activity in East Baltimore, before the driver led police on a chase to a dead-end alley in East Baltimore, according to police. —Adam Thompson, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2026

Detectives later found the car at a dead-end portion of Northeast 10th Avenue. —Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2026

Noun

The rest were preambles or dead ends. —Dan Turello, New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2026

Multiple approaches—superconducting, trapped ions, photonics, and neutral atoms—showed credible paths forward, reinforcing the idea that the field is converging on solutions, not dead ends. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1868, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Verb

1940, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for dead-end

• amend
• append
• ascend
• attend
• backend
• befriend
• boyfriend
• commend
• compend
• contend
• defend
• depend

Kids Definition

dead-end

1 of 2 adjective

ˌded-ˌend

1

a

: having no opportunities for advancement

a dead-end job

b

: lacking an exit

dead-end street

2

: unruly

dead-end kids

dead end

2 of 2 noun

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