dead end

1. noun The end of a road, path, or other passage that does not have an exit or other passages attached to it. I knew my GPS was wrong when it told me to turn onto a road that came to a dead end. We've come to a dead end. We'll have to turn around and take that side road. Are you sure this is where the directions said to go? Because it sure looks like we've reached a dead end.

2. noun By extension, a situation in which no more progress or advancement is possible. I'm afraid we've come to a dead end in our investigation. My research has come to a dead end—every experiment I've tried so far has failed. How are you going to continue to progress in your current job? Sounds to me like you've hit a dead end.

3. adjective Prohibitive of or offering no possibility for progress or advancement. Sometimes hyphenated. Jerry decided he couldn't spend another minute working at that dead end job with no possibility for a promotion. The police received a lot of dead-end leads, but nothing that led them to the killer. How long are you gonna stay in this dead-end relationship? He's never gonna propose to you, honey!

4. verb To end in a way that prevents any possibility of further progress or advancement. Often hyphenated. This street dead-ends up ahead, so we'll have to turn around. I thought this internship would lead to a full-time position in the company, but things have really dead-ended. Unfortunately, our relationship dead-ended when I realized I didn't want to live with him.

See also: dead, end

dead end

1. A passage that has no exit, as in This street's a dead end, so turn back. [Late 1800s]

2. An impasse or blind alley, allowing no progress to be made. For example, This job is a dead end; I'll never be able to advance. [c. 1920]

See also: dead, end

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

a dead end

COMMON You use dead end to talk about situation in which you cannot make any more progress. The signs are that their famously successful economic policy might be nearing a dead end. Do you feel you have reached a dead end at work? Note: You can use dead-end to describe a boring job or situation which will never lead to anything more interesting or successful. He was stuck in the same dead-end job for twenty years. Starting your own business is daunting but I was desperate to get out of what felt like a dead-end situation. Note: A dead end is a street which is closed at one end.

See also: dead, end

a dead ˈend

(informal) a point where no more progress can be made: Lack of further clues meant that the murder investigation came to a dead end. ♢ He was in a dead-end job with no hope of promotion.

See also: dead, end

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