dead

1 of 3

adjective

ˈded 

1

: deprived of life : no longer alive

a dead tree

dead soldiers

missing and presumed dead

2

a(1)

: having the appearance of death : deathly

in a dead faint

(2)

: lacking power to move, feel, or respond : numb

my arm feels dead

b

: very tired

Our legs were completely dead after the hike.

c(1)

: incapable of being stirred emotionally or intellectually : unresponsive

a heart dead to pity

felt dead inside

(2)

: grown cold : extinguished

dead coals

3

a

: inanimate, inert

dead matter

b

: barren, infertile

dead soil

c

: no longer producing or functioning : exhausted

a dead battery

4

a(1)

: lacking power or effect

a dead law

(2)

: no longer having interest, relevance, or significance

a dead issue

b

: no longer in use : obsolete

a dead language

c

: no longer active : extinct

a dead volcano

d

: lacking in gaiety or animation

a dead party

e(1)

: lacking in commercial activity : quiet

The city is dead after five o'clock.

(2)

: commercially idle or unproductive

dead capital

f

: lacking elasticity (see elasticity sense 1a)

a dead tennis ball

g

: being out of action or out of use

The phone went dead.

specifically, electrical engineering : free from any connection to a source of voltage and free from electric charges

a dead electrical circuit

h(1)

sports and games : being out of play

a dead ball

(2)

croquet : temporarily forbidden to play or to make a certain play

5

a

: not running or circulating : stagnant

dead water

b

: not turning

the dead center of a lathe

c

mechanical engineering : not imparting motion or power although otherwise functioning

a dead rear axle

d

: lacking warmth, vigor, or taste

The fire was dead.

a dead wine

6

a

: absolutely uniform

a dead level of mediocrity

b(1)

: unerring

a dead shot with a rifle

(2)

: exact

dead center of the target

(3)

: certain to be doomed

he's dead if he's late for curfew

(4)

: irrevocable

a dead loss

c

: abrupt

brought to a dead stop

d(1)

: complete, absolute

a dead silence

(2)

: all-out

caught it on the dead run

7

: devoid of former occupants

dead villages

deadness noun

dead

2 of 3

noun

plural dead

1

: someone who is no longer alive : one that is dead (see dead entry 1 sense 1)

—usually used collectively

They were among the dead.

2

: the state of being dead

raised him from the dead

—Colossians 2:12 (Revised Standard Version)

3

: the time of greatest quiet

the dead of night

dead

3 of 3

adverb

1

: absolutely, utterly

dead certain

finished dead last

The room became dead quiet.

—Farley Mowat

2

: suddenly and completely

stopped dead in his tracks

3

: directly

dead ahead

Phrases

dead in the water

1

: incapable of being effective : stalled

peace talks were dead in the water

2

: as good as dead : doomed

most books are dead in the water long before their publication

—Phillip Lopate

dead to rights

: with no chance of escape or excuse : red-handed

had him dead to rights for the robbery

over one's dead body

: only by overcoming one's utter and determined resistance

vows that they'll raise his taxes over his dead body

Synonyms

Adjective

• asleep
• breathless
• cold
• deceased
• defunct
• demised
• departed
• fallen
• gone
• late
• lifeless
• low

Noun

• deadness
• death
• grave
• lifelessness
• nothingness
• sleep

Adverb

• direct
• directly
• due
• plumb
• plump
• right
• straight
• straightway

Choose the Right Synonym for dead

dead, defunct, deceased, departed, late mean devoid of life.

dead applies literally to what is deprived of vital force but is used figuratively of anything that has lost any attribute (such as energy, activity, radiance) suggesting life.

a dead, listless performance

defunct stresses cessation of active existence or operation.

a defunct television series

deceased, departed, and late apply to persons who have died recently.

deceased is the preferred term in legal use.

the estate of the deceased

departed is used usually as a euphemism.

our departed sister

late is used especially with reference to a person in a specific relation or status.

the company's late president

Examples of dead in a Sentence

Adjective

Her husband is dead. He died last year.

He was found dead in his apartment yesterday.

He lay dead on the floor.

The lost mountain climbers were believed dead.

The poster said that the robbers were wanted dead or alive.

Our legs were completely dead after hiking all day.

I'm dead if I come in late for work again.

If I ever get my hands on you, you're dead!

Noun

By the end of the war, there were over two million dead.

He began his journey in the dead of winter.

Adverb

She's dead certain that she can finish the job.

We were dead tired by the end of the day.

He's not joking. In fact, he's dead serious.

They were both dead drunk and passed out on the floor.

She finished the race dead last.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The Russell Wilson experiment in Denver was such a failure that he was eventually cut from the team, despite the financial ramifications: the Broncos incurred $85 million in dead salary over the 2024 and 2025 seasons by releasing Wilson, the largest dead cap hit in league history. —Ben Morse, CNN, 14 Dec. 2024

After a long bout of gruff banter, Frank gets personal, invoking his dead son, Joseph. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 14 Dec. 2024

Noun

The supply of unclaimed dead helped bring in about $2.5 million a year from outside groups, according to Health Science Center financial records. —Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 16 Sep. 2024

Many families who want to bury their dead in southern Lebanon are unable to do so. —Kareem Chehayeb and Fadi Tawil, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024

Adverb

The Sun Devils, picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 in preseason polling, got the big day started with a statement win and claimed their first conference crown since 2007, when ASU was in the Pac-10 Conference. —Kevin Dotson, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024

Arizona State University — picked in the preseason conference poll to finish dead last — is favored to win Saturday's Big 12 Championship Game. —Jessica Boehm, Axios, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Noun, and Adverb

Middle English deed, from Old English dēad; akin to Old Norse dauthr dead, deyja to die, Old High German tōt dead — more at die

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dead

• a dead cert
• (as) dead as a dodo
• (as) dead as a doornail
• as good as dead
• beat a dead horse
• brain-dead
• catch dead
• come back from the dead
• cut (someone) dead
• dead ahead
• dead air
• dead-air space
• dead and buried
• dead and gone
• dead battery
• dead bolt
• dead-cat bounce
• dead center
• dead cert
• dead duck
• dead end
• dead faint
• dead from the neck up
• dead giveaway
• dead hand
• dead heat
• dead horse
• dead letter
• dead lift
• dead load
• dead loss
• dead man's float
• dead march
• dead meat
• dead men tell no tales
• dead metaphor
• dead name
• dead of night
• dead of the night
• dead of winter
• dead-on
• dead on arrival
• dead on one's feet
• dead presidents
• dead reckoning
• dead ringer
• dead set
• dead set against
• dead set on
• dead space
• dead-stick landing
• dead to the world
• dead-tree
• drop-dead
• drop-dead date
• flog a dead horse
• go dead
• half dead
• if looks could kill, I'd be dead right now
• knock dead
• leave for dead
• more dead than alive
• play dead
• presumed dead
• return from the dead
• rise from the dead
• shoot dead
• stop (dead) in one's tracks
• strike (someone) dead
• the dead
• the quick and the dead

Kids Definition

dead

1 of 3 adjective

ˈded 

1

: deprived of life : no longer alive

2

a

: having the appearance of death : deathly

in a dead faint

b

: numb entry 1 sense 1

c

: very tired

the trip was really tiring; I'm dead

d

: not reacting : insensitive

dead to pity

e

: burned out : grown cold

dead coals

3

a

: not naturally having life : inanimate

dead matter

b

: no longer producing or functioning

dead battery

4

a

: no longer in use or effect : obsolete

dead language

b

: no longer active : extinct

dead volcano

c

: not lively

a dead party

d

: lacking in commercial activity : quiet

e

: lacking spring

dead tennis ball

f

: being out of action or out of use

a dead telephone line

g

: being out of play

a dead ball

5

: not running or circulating : stagnant

dead air

6

a

: absolutely uniform

the dead level of the prairie

b

: unerring, exact

a dead shot

dead center of the target

c

: being sudden and complete

a dead stop

deadness noun

dead

2 of 3 noun

plural dead

1

plural : those that are dead

the living and the dead

2

: the time of greatest quiet or least activity

dead of night

dead of winter

dead

3 of 3 adverb

1

: to the highest degree

dead right

2

: suddenly and completely

stopped dead

3

: straight entry 2

dead ahead

Medical Definition

dead

1 of 2 adjective

ˈded 

1

: deprived of life : having died

dead of scarlet fever

2

: lacking power to move, feel, or respond : numb

dead

2 of 2 noun

plural dead

: one that is dead

—usually used collectively