Definition of "dead-end" []

• Having no exit. (adjective)
• Permitting no opportunity for advancement: a dead-end job. (adjective)
• Informal Tough and rowdy: a dead-end gang. (adjective)
• To terminate with no exit or possibility of advancement: The road dead-ends at the lake. That job dead-ends at the end of the year. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Long-time opposition leader turned elected president of Guinea, Alpha Conde, warned that without development for impoverished communities, democracy could become what he called a dead-end."
• "Most househunters have monetary considerations and having an idea of the price saves maybe a dozen or so dead-end phone calls or inquiries."
• "Bexley Place is a short, dead-end road just east of St. Barnabas Road, originating from Old Branch Avenue."