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dead

Syllabification: (dead)
Pronunciation: /ded/

Translate dead | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of dead

adjective

  • 1no longer alive:a dead body [as complement]:he was shot dead
  • (of a part of the body) having lost sensation; numb.
  • having or displaying no emotion, sympathy, or sensitivity:a cold, dead voice
  • no longer current, relevant, or important:pollution had become a dead issue
  • devoid of living things:a dead planet
  • resembling death:a dead faint
  • (of a place or time) characterized by a lack of activity or excitement:Brussels isn’t dead after dark, if you know where to look
  • (of money) not financially productive.
  • (of sound) without resonance; dull.
  • (of a color) not glossy or bright.
  • (of a piece of equipment) no longer functioning, especially because of a fault:the phone had gone dead
  • (of an electric circuit or conductor) carrying or transmitting no current:the batteries are dead
  • no longer burning:the fire had been dead for some days
  • (of air or water) not circulating; stagnant.
  • (of a glass or bottle) empty or no longer being used.
  • (of the ball in a game) out of play. See also dead ball.
  • (of a playing field, ball, or other surface) lacking springiness or bounce.
  • 2 [attributive] complete; absolute:we sat in dead silence

adverb

[often as submodifier]
  • absolutely; completely:you’re dead right he was dead against the idea
  • exactly:they arrived dead on time
  • straight; directly:red flares were seen dead ahead
  • British informal very:omelets are dead easy to prepare

noun

(as plural noun the dead)
  • those who have died.

Phrases

dead and buried

over; finished:the incident is dead and buried

(as) dead as a (or the) dodo

see dodo.

(as) dead as a doornail

see doornail.

dead from the neck up

informal stupid.

dead in the water

(of a ship) unable to move.
unable to function effectively:the economy is dead in the water

dead meat

informal in serious trouble:if anyone finds out, you’re dead meat

the dead of night

the quietest, darkest part of the night.

the dead of winter

the coldest part of winter.

dead on

exactly right:her judgment was dead on

dead on arrival

used to describe a person who is declared dead immediately upon arrival at a hospital.
(of an idea, etc.) declared ineffective without ever having been put into effect:why are people pronouncing the plan dead on arrival in the legislature?

dead on one's feet

informal extremely tired.

dead set against

informal strongly opposed to:they were dead set against seeing any more open spaces divided up

dead to rights

informal in the act of doing something wrong; red-handed:he had me dead to rights, so I meekly suffered the rebuke

dead to the world

informal fast asleep.

from the dead

from a state of death:Christ rose from the dead
from a period of obscurity or inactivity:the cartoon brought animation back from the dead

make a dead set at

see set2.

over my dead body

see body.

stop dead

(or stop someone dead)
stop (or cause to stop) suddenly or abruptly:Rob stopped dead and turned to face me the sight stopped him dead in his tracks

wouldn't be seen (or caught) dead

informal used to express strong dislike for a particular thing:James Bond wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a paper napkin bib

Derivatives

deadness

noun

Origin:

Old English dēad, of Germanic origin: related to Dutch dood and German tot, also to die1

dead in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of dead in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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