dead

Study(24)

/dɛd/

noun 6adj 5adv 4verb 4

Collocations

(adj.)

VERBS

be, lie

The old dog was found dead in the garden after the storm.

look

sham

When the possum sensed danger, it dropped to the ground and shammed dead until the threat passed.

drop

My grandmother dropped dead while watching television last Tuesday evening.

shoot sb, strike sb

The accident happened so quickly that the driver was struck dead before anyone could help.

find sb

The hikers found their friend dead at the bottom of the mountain after the storm.

declare sb, pronounce sb

The doctor pronounced him dead after examining the accident victim at the scene.

ADV

quite

My phone battery is quite dead, so I need to charge it before we leave.

PHRASES

dead and buried

His old business rival is dead and buried, so they can finally move forward in peace.

dead and gone

My grandparents are dead and gone, but I still remember their stories.

dead or alive

The police needed to find the missing person dead or alive.

more dead than alive

After the long hike in the heat, my friend was more dead than alive when we finally reached the car.

Definitions

adj

No longer living; deceased. (Also used as a noun.)

All of my grandparents are dead.

Have respect for the dead.

Devoid of living things; barren.

a dead planet

Behold the substance from which all things draw their energy, the bright Spirit of the Globe, without which it cannot live, but must grow cold and dead as the dead moon.

Figuratively, not alive; lacking life.

When a man's verses cannot be understood, nor a man's good wit seconded with the forward child, understanding, it strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room.

Utterly exhausted.

“Finished the last one at three this morning, apart from bits and bobs and poppers. Quite frankly, I'm dead!”

So hated or offensive as to be absolutely shunned, ignored, or ostracized.

He is dead to me.

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace And you're the hero flying around, saving face And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?

adv

Exactly.

dead right; dead level; dead flat; dead straight; dead left

He hit the target dead in the centre.

Very, absolutely, extremely.

dead wrong; dead set; dead serious; dead drunk; dead broke; dead earnest; dead certain; dead slow; dead sure; dead simple; dead honest; dead accurate; dead easy; dead scared; dead solid; dead black; dead white; dead empty

I knew once a Scotch sailmaker who was certain, dead sure, there were people in Mars.

Suddenly and completely.

He stopped dead.

She cut me dead again at the last party.

As if dead.

dead tired; dead quiet; dead asleep; dead pale; dead cold; dead still

I was tired of reading, and dead sleepy.

noun

Time when coldness, darkness, or stillness is most intense.

Near-synonym: nadir

the dead of night

Those who have died: dead people.

the quick and the dead

Will the dead rise again?

Thesaurus

Synonyms

adjective — drained of electric charge

drained

adjective — not yielding a return

idle

adjective — devoid of physical sensation

deadened

adverb — completely and without qualification

adverb — quickly and without warning

abruptly
suddenly
short

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

dead end

A street or path or tunnel that goes nowhere or is blocked on one end.

That road comes to a dead end at the lake.

dead air

An unintended interruption in a broadcast during which nothing is transmitted: a silent period on radio or a silent period with no picture on television.

They fired the production engineer because too many moments of dead air were interrupting the broadcast.

dead heat

a close race or contest in which no winner is apparent

Polls indicated a dead heat for the office of dog catcher.

beat a dead horse

To persist or continue far beyond any purpose, interest or reason.

After having shown us three hours of instructional and safety videos, the inspector was simply beating a dead horse by telling us to buckle up as we got into the van.

flog a dead horse

To attempt to get more out of something that cannot give more; to attempt to arouse fresh interest in something that is either hopeless or already settled.

Example Bank

All of my grandparents are dead.

Wiktionary

Have respect for the dead.

Wiktionary

The villagers are mourning their dead.

Wiktionary

dead right; dead level; dead flat; dead straight; dead left

Wiktionary

He hit the target dead in the centre.

Wiktionary

Across the region known as the Landes, this stretch of line is almost dead level, and the only curve is one of 2¼ miles radius through the station of Labouheyre.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, dead is marked as informal, slang, colloquial, UK, US. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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