dead end
1. A length of pipe leading from a soil, waste, or vent pipe, building drain, or building sewer, which is terminated by a plug, cap, or other closed fitting; there is no circulation in this length of pipe, and no waste from a plumbing fixture is fed into it.
2. The point of fastening in a running rope system where the other end is fastened to a
rope drum.
3. In concrete work, the end opposite that to which a load is applied.
4. A portion of a corridor in which the travel to an exit is in one direction only.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.