cul-de-sac vs dead-end

cul-de-sac

• An impasse. 

• A blind alley or dead end street. 

• A sack-like cavity, a tube open at one end only. 

• A circular area at the end of a dead end street to allow cars to turn around, designed so children can play on the street, with little or no through-traffic. 

dead-end

• A position that offers no hope of progress. 

• A road with no exit. 

• To come to a dead-end. 

• Going nowhere; blocked.