dead

DED/dɛd/

37 meanings of dead

1
having diedadjective
No longer living; having died and ceased all life functions.
The soldiers buried their dead comrades before sunrise.
Doctors pronounced him dead at the scene.
UsageDead is the state, died the event: he died last year, he's been dead for years (not ~~incorrect: he is died~~).
Similardeceased, lifeless, departed
Oppositealive, living
2
noununcountablewith the
People who have died, considered collectively.
The living gathered to mourn the dead.
Ancient rites were performed to guide the dead into the afterlife.
UsageTakes a plural verb: the dead were buried. The departed and the deceased are gentler words.
Similardeceased, departed
Oppositeliving
Note
The collective noun behind the old phrase the quick and the dead, where quick is the archaic word for "living." In modern English the usual opposite is the living, as in the creed's "the living and the dead."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The quick and the dead is an old phrase referring collectively to living and dead people. en.wikipedia.org
Quick has the archaic meaning living. en.wiktionary.org
The wording the living and the dead occurs in the creed. vatican.va
3
out of chargeadjective
Not working, or without electrical power or charge, as of a battery, machine, phone, or circuit.
The car wouldn't start because the battery was dead.
She tossed the dead batteries into the recycling bin.
UsageOften go dead: my phone went dead; also a dead battery.
Similarflat, drained
Oppositecharged, live, working
4
absolutelyadverbcolloquial
Completely or extremely, used informally before an adjective, as in 'dead simple', 'dead tired', or 'dead asleep'.
The instructions were dead simple to follow.
He stood dead still as the deer approached.
Similarcompletely, totally, really, perfectly, absolutely
Note
Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" (1899) uses it to strengthen a word already present: a sailmaker "certain, dead sure."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness. gutenberg.org
Heart of Darkness was first published in 1899. en.wikisource.org
The text describes a sailmaker as 'certain, dead sure', reinforcing the preceding expression of certainty. These are Marlow's narrative words. gutenberg.org
5
adjective
Without life, energy, or activity; dull, or unusually quiet and empty of people.
The band sounded dead on stage, going through the motions with no spark.
The novel's middle chapters are dead, with no tension or momentum.
Similarlifeless, flat, dull, lackluster, listless
Oppositelively, vibrant, energetic
Note
A figurative sense that bends the usual grammar. Literal death has no degrees, but here the word can take them. Shakespeare's As You Like It grades it outright: a misunderstood verse "strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room." When you want to say that a thing feels lifeless rather than is lifeless, more dead is available to you.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
William Shakespeare wrote As You Like It. en.wikipedia.org
As You Like It uses the comparative 'more dead' in the quoted passage about uncomprehended verse; Touchstone speaks the line. shakespeare.mit.edu
6
doomedadjective
Doomed or marked for death; effectively finished already, whether meant literally or as hyperbole.
Cornered with no way out, the fugitive knew he was dead.
If you scratch Dad's car, you're dead.
UsageUsed in predictions and threats: I thought we were dead; you're dead if they catch you. Threats may be serious or joking.
Similardoomed, finished, done
Oppositesafe
7
no longer usedadjective
No longer in use, needed, or existing; belonging to the past.
The old account is dead, so emails to it just bounce back.
Half the links on that page are dead and lead nowhere.
UsageCommon in a dead link, a dead account, a dead number.
Similardefunct, obsolete, inactive
Oppositeactive, live, working
Note
A sense that spans the pub and the compiler. A server asks whether a beer glass is dead, meaning finished with. Winston Smock's Technical Writing for Beginners warns against marking a dead manuscript. Programmers speak of dead store elimination. In each case the thing still exists; it has simply stopped mattering.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Winston Smock wrote Technical Writing for Beginners. writing.utoronto.ca
Technical Writing for Beginners warns against marking a dead manuscript. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

8
directlyadverbcolloquial
Exactly or precisely; used especially before words of position or direction.
The compass pointed dead north.
As the fog lifted, we saw the lighthouse dead ahead of us.
Similarexactly, due, directly, precisely
9
adjective
Exact; precisely on the mark or on time.
The race ended in a dead heat between the favorites.
Drill the hole at the dead center of the panel.
UsageMostly in set phrases: a dead heat (a tie), dead center.
Similarexact, precise
10
utter (silence)adjective
Full and complete; applied especially to an absence of motion, sound, or activity.
We waited in dead silence for the verdict.
The sea lay in a dead calm under the noon sun.
UsageBefore nouns: dead silence, a dead calm, come to a dead stop; a dead giveaway means a complete giveaway.
Similarcomplete, total, utter, absolute
Note
Most of its partners name stillness, so the old idea of lifelessness still echoes through it.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Dead has an old literal sense referring to lifelessness, attested in Old English. en.wiktionary.org
11
abruptlyadverb
Suddenly and completely, all at once.
The clock stopped dead at midnight.
Halfway across the parking lot, she stopped dead, suddenly remembering she had left the stove on.
UsageAfter verbs of stopping: stop dead, stopped dead in her tracks.
Similarabruptly, suddenly
Oppositegradually
12
deepest pointnoununcountablewith the
The point at which coldness, darkness, or stillness is most intense.
She woke in the dead of night to a strange sound.
The expedition set out in the dead of winter.
UsageAlmost always the dead of night or the dead of winter.
Similarmiddle, depth
13
adjectivecolloquial
So tired that no energy is left, especially after hard work or a night with too little sleep.
Don't call me tonight; I'm dead after three night shifts in a row.
By the third day of hauling boxes, the whole crew was dead, too tired even to cook dinner.
UsageFor this meaning, usually use dead after a linking verb: I'm dead. Dead tired makes the meaning clearer.
Similarexhausted, beat, shattered, drained
Oppositerested, fresh, energetic
14
overcome by laughteradjectiveslang
Overwhelmed with laughter, or sometimes with shock or embarrassment, as in 'I'm dead'.
I'm absolutely dead, that was the funniest thing I've seen all week.
My sister sent me a video of her cat sliding off the counter, and I'm dead.
UsageSaid as a whole reply, I'm dead or just dead, mostly praising something very funny.
Note
It keeps company with LMAO, ROFL and crying, and RIP turns up in the same slot. The joke usually rests on dying of laughter, so the word mostly praises whatever was funny, though it can also signal shock or secondhand embarrassment.
15
shunnedadjective
So disliked or offensive as to be completely shunned, ignored, or cut off.
The informer was dead to everyone in the village.
When she married against her parents' wishes, they told her she was dead to them and stopped answering her calls.
UsageWith to and the person doing the shunning: he's dead to me.
Note
Taylor Swift's "My Tears Ricochet" (2020) turns the phrase back on the speaker, asking why someone who treats her as gone from their life still comes to mourn her.
16
flat (tone)adjective
Showing or feeling no emotion; flat, impassive, and unresponsive.
He delivered the news in a dead, level tone.
He read the apology in a dead voice, never once looking up from the paper.
UsageMostly about voices, eyes and tones: a dead voice, dead eyes.
Similarflat, expressionless, impassive, blank, emotionless
Oppositeanimated, expressive
17
pins and needlesadjective
Affected by numbness and tingling, as in pins and needles.
His leg went dead during the long flight.
I shook my hand to wake it up after it went dead.
UsageMostly go dead: my leg went dead.
Similarnumb, asleep
18
adjective
Devoid of living things; barren and unable to support life.
The river ran through a dead landscape of ash and rock.
Overfishing left large stretches of the sea dead.
Similarbarren, lifeless, sterile, desolate
Oppositefertile, thriving
19
adjective
Completely stationary or unmoving; fixed and immovable in place.
The ship lay dead in the water with its engines shut off.
At the edge of the glacier lies a wide band of dead ice that stopped flowing long ago.
UsageMostly in dead in the water, which also describes a plan that has stalled or failed.
Similarmotionless, still, stationary, immobile
Note
Mostly found in fixed pairings where the word means a weight that does not move, such as the dead load on a floor. Another is the dead lift, the phrase behind the weightlifting word deadlift. Outside these phrases, everyday English tends to reach for still or stationary instead.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
A dead load is a constant weight associated with a structure and its permanent attachments. lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov
20
adjective
Dull or flat to the senses; lacking brightness, sparkle, or vividness.
The colors looked dead under the harsh fluorescent lights.
The champagne had gone completely dead by midnight.
Similardull, flat, lifeless, drab
Oppositebright, vivid, sparkling
21
out of playadjective
No longer in active play; out of play under the rules of the game.
The referee ruled the ball dead at the thirty-yard line.
Once the whistle blows, the ball is dead and the clock stops.
Oppositelive
Note
This is a ruling rather than a description. The ball has not changed, but the rules have stopped counting it. Once the rules make it dead, normal play with it stops until play restarts. Because the call is yes or no, it takes no degrees: one ball is never deader than another. It sits close to the "no power" sense, present but switched off.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
A dead ball has a status defined by the rules. mlb.com
Crossing a baseball foul line does not itself make the ball dead. A ball landing beyond first or third base can bounce into foul territory and remain fair. content.mlb.com
A referee's whistle stopping play puts the ball out of play. theifab.com
Baseball allows runners to advance and score during a dead-ball period as a result of acts that occurred while the ball was live, including an out-of-the-park home run. mktg.mlbstatic.com
22
murderverbslangtransitive
To kill someone.
Rival crews threatened to dead each other over the territory.
He claimed someone had paid him to dead the witness.
Similarkill, murder, waste, ice
Note
MF Doom's "Guinnesses" (2004) uses the past form in a line of regret, the rapper wishing he had already finished the thing off. Power (2020) puts the verb in a gangster's mouth on screen.
23
shut downverbtransitive
To stop or prevent something by disabling it.
Similarkill, disable, stop
24
adjective
Said of a fire, a coal, a match or a cigarette: burned out, with no heat or light left in it.
She poked at the dead coals in the grate, hoping to find one last spark.
A dead cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth as he read the paper.
Similarextinguished, spent, cold
Oppositelive, lit, burning
25
adjective
Deliberately built so as not to transmit motion or power.
26
adjective
Built or treated so as not to reflect or transmit sound; soundless or echo-free.
27
adjective
Producing nothing, as land left unplanted or money that earns no return.
28
adjective
In golf, of a ball, resting so close to the hole that the next putt is sure to go in.
29
adjectiveslang
In baseball, put out by being touched with the ball or with a glove holding it.
30
adjectiveobsolete
Causing death, fatal.
You breathe these dead news in as dead an ear.
c. 1596, William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”
31
adjective
Legally treated as no longer existing, having lost a citizen's civil rights and the right to own or inherit property.
32
adjectiverare
No longer affected or controlled by something such as sin, guilt, or pleasure, and feeling no tie to it, usually with to.
33
adjective
Describing a syllable, in Thai, Burmese and certain other languages, that stops sharply, as with a final stop consonant or short vowel.
34
nounUK
Worthless rock left in a mine, often piled in large heaps underground, usually in the plural.
35
nouncolloquial
Short for deadlift, a weightlifting exercise in which a loaded bar is raised from the floor to hip height.
36
verb
To take away the life, strength, or energy of someone or something.
37
verbslang
To stop or cancel something, such as a plan or project.

Practice

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Origin

From Middle English ded, from Old English dēad, going back to Proto-West Germanic *daud and Proto-Germanic *daudaz. It is related to Dutch dood, German tot, and Danish and Norwegian død.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

English dead descends through Middle English ded and Old English dēad from Proto-West Germanic *daud and Proto-Germanic *daudaz. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch dood, German tot, and Danish and Norwegian død share the same Germanic ancestor as English dead. en.wiktionary.org