Dead | Mean of dead in English Dictionary

/ˈdɛd/

• no longer alive or living
1. Her husband is dead. He died last year.
2. She's been dead for over 10 years now. [=she died more than 10 years ago]
3. a dead insect/bird/dog
4. dead trees/leaves/skin
5. the dead [=lifeless] bodies of the soldiers
6. He was found dead in his apartment yesterday.
7. He lay dead on the floor.
8. The lost mountain climbers were believed/presumed dead.
9. She shot him dead. [=she killed him by shooting him]
10. When we found her, she was more dead than alive. [=almost dead; very close to death]
11. The poster said that the robbers were wanted dead or alive.
12. He was as good as dead. [=he was almost dead]
13. She taught her dog to play dead. [=to lie on its back and pretend to be dead]
14. They hit the dog with their car and left it for dead on the side of the road.
15. He had been badly beaten and left for dead.
• not able to feel or move
1. My hand was dead [=numb] after holding the bag for so long.
• very tired
1. Our legs were completely dead after hiking all day.
2. I arrived home from work half dead. [=exhausted]
3. By the end of the day the workers were dead on their feet. [=very tired but still standing, working, etc.]

• feeling no emotions
1. After the war, I was emotionally dead. [=I was no longer able to feel happiness, sadness, etc.]
• certain to be punished or hurt
1. I'm dead if I come in late for work again.
2. If I ever get my hands on you, you're dead!
• no longer working especially because of not having electricity
1. The car's battery is dead.
2. dead electrical outlets
3. a dead telephone line
4. The phones went dead during the storm.
• no longer active or operating
1. a dead [=extinct] volcano
2. dead companies
3. That plan is dead for now. We've started developing a new one.
4. a dead deal
• naturally not living
1. rocks and other dead [=inanimate] matter
• lacking in activity or excitement
1. The store's been dead [=quiet] all day.
2. This party's completely dead. [=it is not lively]
3. The audience was kind of dead tonight.
• no longer performed or enjoyed
1. He says that disco is dead.
2. a dead art form
• no longer spoken
1. Latin is a dead language.
• complete, total, or absolute
1. There was dead silence in the room.
2. She spoke with dead certainty.
3. I chased them at a dead run for three miles.
4. The camera is a dead giveaway [=clearly shows] that you're a tourist.
5. She fell to the floor in a dead faint.
6. The evening wasn't all I had hoped for, but is wasn't a dead loss. [=it wasn't completely bad]
7. He's a dead ringer for [=he looks exactly like] his father.
8. (Brit, informal) They're a dead cert [=a sure thing, a sure bet] to win. [=they are certain to win]
• sudden and complete
1. The bus came to a dead [=abrupt] stop.
• perfect or exact
1. Her arrow hit the dead [=very] center of the target.
• no longer living
1. He's been dead and buried for 50 years.
2. relatives long dead and gone
• no longer used or accepted
1. Those old family traditions are dead and buried.
2. That idea is dead and buried.
3. The days of our childhood are dead and gone.
• very stupid or foolish
1. Most of his friends are dead from the neck up.
• not making any progress
1. The peace talks were dead in the water.
2. His election campaign is dead in the water.
• having died before getting to a hospital, emergency room, etc.
1. The victim was dead on arrival at the hospital.
2. Some are saying that any new tax proposal would be dead on arrival. [=would have no chances of being approved]
• sleeping very deeply
1. You can't wake him up. He's dead to the world.
• to fall to the ground and die very suddenly
1. She dropped dead while playing basketball.
• Noun
• people who have died
1. By the end of the war, there were over two million dead.
2. the living and the dead
3. His mother and brother were among the dead.
4. the souls/spirits of the dead
• the state of being dead
1. For a moment, I thought that my grandfather had come back from the dead.
2. They believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
• the time in the middle of the night or winter
1. She left in the dead of the night. = She left at dead of night. [=she left very late at night]
2. He began his journey in the dead of winter.
• completely or totally
1. I think you're dead [=absolutely, utterly] wrong.
2. She's dead certain that she can finish the job.
3. We were dead tired by the end of the day.
4. He's not joking. In fact, he's dead serious.
5. They were both dead drunk and passed out on the floor.
6. She finished the race dead last.
7. The mayor was dead set against [=strongly opposed to] the plan.
8. She was dead set on going to college. [=she was completely certain she wanted to go to college]
• in a sudden and complete way
1. He stopped dead in his tracks. [=stopped suddenly]
• directly or exactly
1. The island is dead ahead of us. [=the island is right in front of us]
2. She hung the picture dead center on the wall. [=she hung the picture in the exact center of the wall]