cul-de-sac
Americannoun
plural
culs-de-sac-
a street, lane, etc., closed at one end; blind alley; dead-end street.
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any situation in which further progress is impossible.
-
the hemming in of a military force on all sides except behind.
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Anatomy. a saclike cavity, tube, or the like, open only at one end, as the cecum.
noun
-
a road with one end blocked off; dead end
-
an inescapable position
-
any tube-shaped bodily cavity or pouch closed at one end, such as the caecum
Etymology
Origin of cul-de-sac
1730–40; < French: literally, bottom of the sack
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That said, analysts believe that cutting off access, as Iran has threatened to do, will not affect the major Asia-Europe shipping route, with the Gulf ending in a cul-de-sac by the shores of Kuwait, Iraq and Iran.
From Barron's
The property is also located at the end of a cul-de-sac, ensuring ample privacy.
From MarketWatch
“Set on a promontory on the most prime cul-de-sac in the Bird Streets,” according to the listing, the five-bedroom, seven-bathroom property is filled with unique works of art that can be seen in almost every room.
From MarketWatch
But amid blizzards, subzero winds, outrageous acts of state terror and every other despair lurking in The Big Dark, it’s a readily accessible, harmonious cul-de-sac in an era of rampant tone deafness.
From Salon
I’d soon erect a for-sale sign on that lush green yard and move to a condo somewhere, far from the idyllic cul-de-sac, the animal-shaped cookie cutters and the excessive dishwasher cycles that punctuated my blessed family life.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
