dead-ends 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of dead-end
as in ends
to come to an end after several fruitless years, the research seems to have simply dead-ended

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

dead ends

2 of 2

noun

plural of dead end
1
as in secondary roads

Related Words
2
as in bottlenecks

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dead-ends
Verb
Boca Chica Beach is a free, undeveloped eight-mile stretch of Gulf shoreline near Brownsville—the southernmost city in Texas—where Highway 4 dead-ends at the water and SpaceX’s Starbase launch towers loom to the north. — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 28 June 2026 The one road in—NW Torreya Park Road—dead-ends at the Gregory House. — Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2026 That is one of many problems that Zara and Luke go on to dodge, including dead-ends, dead bodies and a drunken mom. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026 With three exposures on a block that dead-ends above the East River, the house is also filled with beautiful light. — Kim Velsey, Curbed, 22 Sep. 2025 Doubles, glitches, erotic dread, narrative dead-ends. — Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dead-ends
  1. ends
  2. highways
  3. bottlenecks
  4. stops
  5. closes
  6. dilemmas
  7. halts
  8. roads
Verb
  • The five-episode limited series takes viewers on an emotional journey, opening with a shocking first scene which is also how the series ends.
    — Reshma Gopaldas, IndieWire, 4 Nov. 2026
  • But even after the uneven Multiverse Saga ends (hopefully on a high note), Marvel Studios won’t be stopping.
    — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of ends
Noun
  • If El Niño brings storms that damage the road again, history suggests Caltrans will fix it, seemingly stuck in an endless loop of patchwork repairs for one of California’s most challenging mountain highways to maintain.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
  • For example, campaign workers must remove signs placed within sight of state highways within 10 days after an election.
    — Anne Ewbank, Sacbee.com, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of highways
Noun
  • Standard lithium cells face persistent raw-material bottlenecks and thermal safety concerns.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The five-star analyst said that the conference supported his thesis that Nvidia continues to effectively navigate bottlenecks in the supply chain, land/power/shell, and funding.
    — TipRanks.com Staff, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of bottlenecks
Verb
  • The question, posed during an on-court postgame interview, was when a young player stops measuring his performance by his point total and starts measuring it by the result.
    — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Even hair and makeup had to adapt, since traditional hair spray stops working properly in that cold.
    — Max Gao, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of stops
Noun
  • Whether China and the United States blunder into war before that window closes will be among the defining questions of the coming years.
    — NIALL FERGUSON, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Big for Club name Nvidia, which has posted back-to-back record closes.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of closes
Noun
  • Hitchcock’s Rear Window, though not a road horror film, is about the moral dilemmas associated with encounters with the other, particularly with regards to voyeurism.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Together, Frankenstein and The Vampyre remind us of literature’s power to probe the deepest questions of human existence, offering enduring insights into the ethical, social, and existential dilemmas that continue to shape our world.
    — Maria Papadouris, JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of dilemmas
Verb
  • The council voted unanimously on the ordinance, which halts new oil and gas drilling in the city and phases out existing production over the next 20 years.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The Bears go three-and-out, and the wind halts the ensuing punt, landing at the 15-yard line.
    — Caleb Yum, Austin American Statesman, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of halts
Noun
  • His priorities if given another four years were public safety, better roads and lower taxes.
    — Rachel Royster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Mauldin, chair of the city’s Planning Commission and an employee of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, emphasized responsible growth, affordable housing and improvements to roads, public transit and utilities.
    — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of roads

Browse Nearby Words

dead-ending
dead-ends
dead ends
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dead-ends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dead-ends. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of defer

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All