dead end

Universal Words noun 1 a road, passage, etc. that is closed at one end: The first street we tried turned out to be a dead end. 2 a point at which you can make no further progress in what you are doing: We had come to a dead end in our research. * This line of investigation could prove to be a complete dead end. * He's in a dead-end job in the local factory (= one with low wages and no hope of promotion).