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
Calmatters, Mercury News, 10 Oct. 2025
In today’s uneasy job market and stubborn inflation, escaping a dead-end job can feel impossible.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2025
Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
The most promising of the three was Twin Oaks Court, a cluster of lots on a dead-end street sprouting from a frontage road along the I-280 freeway.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 10 Oct. 2025
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
And what application of AI seems to you more likely to hit a dead end?
—Big Think, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dead-end
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Adjective
The most promising of the three was Twin Oaks Court, a cluster of lots on a dead-end street sprouting from a frontage road along the I-280 freeway.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 10 Oct. 2025
In today’s uneasy job market and stubborn inflation, escaping a dead-end job can feel impossible.
—Preston Fore, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
The novel follows Julia Flang, a former gamer who lives with her uncle while working a series of dead-end jobs.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
The most promising of the three was Twin Oaks Court, a cluster of lots on a dead-end street sprouting from a frontage road along the I-280 freeway.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
But Doyle is already at a dead end when Ballad of a Small Player begins, his luck and funds having already run out, and the film is unable to come up with any reason why his fate is worth investing in.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
And what application of AI seems to you more likely to hit a dead end?
—Big Think, 28 Oct. 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 Nov. 2025.
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