combat vs dead-end

combat

• a struggle for victory 

• A battle, a fight (often one in which weapons are used). 

• To fight; to struggle against. 

• To fight (with); to struggle for victory (against). 

dead-end

• A position that offers no hope of progress. 

• A road with no exit. 

• Going nowhere; blocked. 

• To come to a dead-end.