dead end

dead end — noun

IPA/ˌded ˈend/
IPA/ˌded ˈend/

1. a road, path, or passage that is blocked at one end so that vehicles and people

1.名詞B1
釋義

a road, path, or passage that is blocked at one end so that vehicles and people cannot go through — you must turn around or go back the way you came.

例句

Caio reached the dead end and turned his car around near the old church.

turn around at a dead end

A dead end sign stood at the lane corner, but the driver drove past anyway.

dead end sign posted at corner

同義詞
  • cul-de-sac

    more formal; the common term in real estate and formal addresses

  • no-through road

    used in British English on official signs

  • blind alley

    less common; suggests a narrow, enclosed passage rather than a street

反義詞

文法句型

dead end + sign / street / alley

turn around + at + a dead end

live on + a dead end

用法筆記

In the US and Canada, 'Dead End' appears on road signs at streets with no exit. In the UK, the equivalent sign usually reads 'No Through Road'. The French term 'cul-de-sac' is used in formal or real-estate contexts.

常見錯誤

❌He drove into a dead-end street and could continue.
✅He drove into a dead-end street and had to turn around.
💡A dead end means you cannot go through, so 'continue' contradicts the meaning.
❌There is a dead end at the road' (when the road itself is the dead end).
✅The road is a dead end.
💡A road does not 'have' a dead end; the road itself is the dead end.

2. a point where you stop making progress because you have run out of useful option

2.名詞B2
釋義

a point where you stop making progress because you have run out of useful options — for example, a job that leads nowhere, a relationship that keeps breaking down, or research that will not produce results.

例句

After six months of failed talks, the peace negotiations hit a dead end.

collocation: hit a dead end

Minho realized his research had reached a dead end when the laboratory tests kept failing.

collocation: reach a dead end

同義詞
  • impasse

    more formal; suggests a deadlock where neither side can move forward, especially in negotiations

  • stalemate

    from chess; implies both sides are blocked, with no one able to win

  • deadlock

    specifically about two opposing forces that cannot reach an agreement

  • standstill

    focuses on the complete halt of activity rather than the impossibility of progress

反義詞
  • breakthrough

    a sudden advance that allows progress after a blockage

  • progress

    forward movement toward a goal

文法句型

hit + a dead end

reach + a dead end

come to + a dead end

be at + a dead end

用法筆記

Common in fixed expressions: 'hit a dead end', 'reach a dead end', 'come to a dead end', and 'be at a dead end'. The sense often appears with career, relationship, negotiation, or research contexts. Unlike noun sense 1, this sense cannot refer to a physical road.

常見錯誤

❌Our team dead-ended in the discussion.
✅Our team reached a dead end in the discussion.
💡Do not use 'dead-end' as a verb for abstract situations; use 'hit/reach/come to a dead end' instead.
❌The project is dead-ending.
✅The project has come to a dead end.
💡Abstract sense does not take the progressive form 'dead-ending'.

dead end — verb

IPA/ˌdedˈend/
IPA/ˌdedˈend/