English Reference
Idiom idiom

dead end


A street or path or tunnel that goes nowhere or is blocked on one end.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

We turned around because the road was a dead end.

CONTEXTUAL

The GPS led us into a narrow dead end, so we had to reverse all the way back to the main road.

COMPLEX

The winding path through the forest eventually became a dead end, forcing the hikers to retrace their steps toward the valley.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all ends up

    Completely; totally.

  2. 02

    arse end of nowhere

    A very remote place.

  3. 03

    beat a dead horse

    To persist or continue far beyond any purpose, interest or reason.

  4. 04

    big end of town

    The top end of town.

  5. 05

    bitter end

    The end of a long and difficult process.

  6. 06

    brown bread

    [Cockney slang]dead

  7. 07

    burn the candle at both ends

    To work hard night and day; to sleep late and wake up early; to overwork or overexert oneself.

  8. 08

    business end

    The part of an object (chiefly a tool or weapon) that is physically used for its operation, rather than some other part such as the part by which it is held.

Last updated August 10, 2026