cul-de-sac

noun

ˈkəl-di-ˌsak 

ˈku̇l-;

ˌkəl-di-ˈsak,

ˌku̇l-

plural cul-de-sacs ˈkəl-di-ˌsaks 

ˈku̇l-;

ˌkəl-di-ˈsaks,

ˌku̇l-

also culs-de-sac ˈkəl(z)-di-ˌsak 

ˈku̇l(z)-;

ˌkəl(z)-di-ˈsak,

ˌku̇l(z)-

1

: a blind diverticulum or pouch

2

: a street or passage closed at one end

Our house is located on a quiet cul-de-sac.

3

: blind alley

If your job is a cul-de-sac, you have to quit or accept the fact that your career is over.

—Seth Godin

Examples of cul-de-sac in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Resting beyond a remote cul-de-sac street and double wood gates, the private residence is sequestered amid park-like grounds dotted with mature oaks and a seasonal creek. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 7 May 2024

The two-story home, set on half an acre at the end of a cul-de-sac in a wee glen in the Coldwater Canyon area, was built in 1957. —Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 25 Apr. 2024

Each is located on a cul-de-sac dominated by warehouses and office buildings — which, in the case of Earth, wasn’t necessarily a first choice. —David Browne, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2024

The Zillow listing says the home is nestled at the end of a cul-de-sac, near hiking trails and Silicon Valley’s tech hubs. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2024

So to get that kind of multi-kid synergy, pick your cul-de-sac carefully — then hope the kids aren’t in cars all day chasing travel leagues. —Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024

The company’s design shop is in the Bay Area, in a cul-de-sac behind Pivotal. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024

Perched atop a gated 2.2-acre promontory in the exclusive Carbon Mesa enclave, at the end of a secluded cul-de-sac high above La Costa Beach, the modern gray-hued structure was built in the mid-1990s. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024

Frustrated and sometimes furious with a Netanyahu government that has often ignored its advice on how to conduct military operations in Gaza and publicly rejected U.S. visions for a permanent peace, the Biden administration now finds itself in a policy cul-de-sac from which there is no easy exit. —Karen Deyoung, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French, literally, bottom of the bag

First Known Use

1738, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

cul-de-sac

noun

ˈkəl-di-ˌsak,

ˈku̇l-

plural cul-de-sacs

ˈkəl-di-ˌsaks,

ˈku̇l-

also culs-de-sac

ˈkəl(z)-di-ˌsak,

ˈku̇l(z)-

: a street or passage closed at one end

Medical Definition

cul-de-sac

noun

ˈkəl-di-ˌsak, ˈku̇l-; ˌkəl-di-ˈ, ˌku̇l- 

plural culs-de-sac ˈkəl(z)-, ˈku̇l(z)-, ˌkəl(z)-, ˌku̇l(z)-  also cul-de-sacs -ˌsaks, -ˈsaks 

1

: a blind diverticulum or pouch

also : the closed end of such a pouch

2

: pouch of douglas