/ ded; NAmE / adjective , noun , adverb
■ adjective
NOT ALIVE
1.
no longer alive :
My mother's dead; she died in 1987.
a dead person / animal
dead leaves / wood / skin
He was shot dead by a gunman outside his home.
Catherine's dead body lay peacefully on the bed.
He dropped dead (= died suddenly) last week.
The poor child looks more dead than alive .
( figurative )
In ten years he'll be dead and buried as a politician.
IDEA / BELIEF / PLAN
2.
[ not before noun ] 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) .
NOT USED
3.
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
4.
( informal ) finished; not able to be used any more :
dead matches
There were two dead bottles of wine on the table.
MACHINE
5.
( of machines or equipment ) not working because of a lack of power :
a dead battery
The hard disk is dead.
Suddenly the phone went dead .
PLACE
6.
( informal , disapproving ) very quiet, without activity or interest :
There were no theatres, no cinemas, no coffee bars. It was dead as anything.
BUSINESS
7.
( informal , disapproving ) 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.
TIRED
8.
[ not usually before noun ] ( informal ) 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.
WITHOUT FEELING
9.
[ not before noun ] ( of a part of the body ) unable to feel because of cold, etc.
SYN numb :
My left arm had gone dead .
10.
~ to sth unable to feel or understand emotions
SYN insensitive :
He was dead to all feelings of pity.
11.
( especially of sb's voice, eyes or face ) showing no emotion
SYN expressionless :
She said, 'I'm sorry, too,' in a quiet, dead voice.
His usually dead grey eyes were sparkling.
COMPLETE / EXACT
12.
[ only before noun ] 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 .
( BrE )
This horse is a dead cert for (= will certainly win) the race tomorrow.
She crumpled to the floor in a dead faint (= completely unconscious) .
NEVER ALIVE
13.
never having been alive :
dead matter (= for example rock)
a dead planet (= one with no life on it)
IN SPORT
14.
outside the playing area
•
IDIOMS
- be a dead ringer for sb
- (as) dead as a / the dodo
- (as) dead as a doornail
- a dead duck
- be dead and gone
- the dead hand of sth
- dead in the water
- dead meat
- dead to the world
- over my dead body
- sb wouldn't be seen / caught dead ...
—more at flog , knock verb
■ noun the dead
1.
[ pl. ] people who have died :
The dead and wounded in that one attack amounted to 6 000.
2.
[ sing. ] the state of being dead :
Christians believe that God raised Jesus from the dead.
( figurative )
In nine years he has brought his party back from the dead almost to the brink of power.
•
IDIOMS
- in the dead of night
- in the dead of winter
■ adverb
( informal )
COMPLETELY
1.
completely; exactly :
You're dead right!
( BrE )
a dead straight road
( BrE )
The train was dead on time.
He's dead against the idea.
The sight made him stop dead in his tracks (= stop suddenly) .
She's dead set on getting (= determined to get) this new job.
VERY
2.
( BrE , informal ) very; extremely :
The instructions are dead easy to follow.
You were dead lucky to get that job.
I was dead scared.
•
IDIOMS
- cut sb dead
—more at right noun
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English dēad , of Germanic origin: related to Dutch dood and German tot , also to die .