📒 no longer alive
- My mother's dead; she died in 2017.
- a dead person/animal
- dead leaves/wood/skin
📒 not working because of a lack of power
- a dead battery
- Suddenly the phone went dead.
- John's mobile was completely dead.
📒 no longer believed in or aimed for
- Many believe the peace plan is dead.
- Unfortunately racism is not yet dead.
- Though the idea may be dead, it is far from being buried (= people still talk about it, even though there is nothing new to say).
📒 belonging to the past; no longer practised or fashionable
- Is the Western a dead art form?
- a dead language (= one that is no longer spoken, for example Latin)
📒 finished; not able to be used any more
- dead matches
- There were two dead bottles of wine on the table.
📒 very quiet, without activity or interest
- There were no theatres, no cinemas, no coffee bars. It was dead as anything.
📒 without activity; with nobody buying or selling anything
- ‘The market is absolutely dead this morning,’ said one foreign exchange trader.
- Winter is traditionally the dead season for the housing market.
📒 extremely tired; not well
- half dead with cold and hunger
- She felt dead on her feet and didn't have the energy to question them further.
📒 unable to feel because of cold, etc.
- My left arm had gone dead.
📒 unable to feel or understand emotions
- He was dead to all feelings of pity.
📒 showing no emotion
- She said, ‘I'm sorry, too,’ in a quiet, dead voice.
- His usually dead grey eyes were sparkling.
📒 complete or exact
- a dead silence/calm
- the dead centre of the target
- The car gave a sudden jerk and came to a dead stop.
📒 never having been alive
- dead matter (= for example rock)
- a dead planet (= one with no life on it)
📒 outside the playing area
- There was a dead ball with five seconds to go in the game.
📒 to be dead
- You'll be sorry you said that when I'm dead and gone.
- That won't happen until long after I'm dead and gone.
📒 to look very like somebody
- She's a dead ringer for a girl I used to know.
📒 completely dead; no longer interesting or relevant
- In the second half both teams made substitutions to try and liven things up, but the game was as dead as a dodo.
📒 completely dead
📒 a plan, an event, etc. that has failed or is certain to fail and that is therefore not worth discussing
📒 an influence that controls or limits something
- We need to free business from the dead hand of bureaucracy.
📒 a person or plan that is dead in the water has failed and has little hope of succeeding in the future
- His leadership campaign is dead in the water.
📒 in serious trouble
- If anyone finds out, you're dead meat.
📒 (of an accident victim or other patient) already dead when arriving at a hospital
- She was pronounced dead on arrival.
- He didn’t even make it to hospital: DOA.
- Many of the casualties were dead on arrival.
📒 very unlikely to be successful; not working when it is delivered
- The bill was dead on arrival in the Senate.
- The software was DOA.
📒 in a deep sleep
📒 to waste your effort by trying to do something that is no longer possible
📒 to impress somebody very much
- You look fabulous—you'll knock ’em dead tonight.
📒 used to show you are strongly opposed to something
- She moves into our home over my dead body.
📒 used to say that you would not like to wear particular clothes, or to be in a particular situation
- She wouldn't be seen dead in a hat.
- He wouldn't be caught dead going to a club with his mother.