I. ˈded adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English deed, from Old English dēad; akin to Old High German tōt dead, Old Norse dauthr, Gothic dauths; derivative from the root of Old Norse deyja to die — more at die
1. : deprived of life : having ended existence as a living or growing thing — used of organisms or any of their parts or organs
a dead wasp
a dead rabbit
dead leaves
dead of scarlet fever
dead by his own hand
2.
a.
(1) : having the appearance of death or of being dead : deathly
in a dead faint
: insensible
dead to the world
(2) : without power to move, feel, or respond : numb
my arm feels dead
b. : completely exhausted : very tired
after two hours of hiking they were just dead
c.
(1) : incapable of feeling or of being stirred emotionally or intellectually : impervious especially to pleas or arguments : unresponsive
a girl with a heart dead to pity
completely dead and deaf to his father's advice
: lacking sensitivity or delicacy of feeling
dead to all sense of honor
(2) of a sentiment : grown cold : extinguished
a dead passion
a dead love
3.
a. : not naturally endowed with life : inanimate , inert
dead matter
b. : not producing or sustaining life : barren , infertile
dead soil
a dead rocky waste
c. : no longer producing or functioning : exhausted, worked-out
a dead oil well
a dead mine
a dead battery
4.
a. : lacking power or effect
a dead law
: no longer of concern : no longer having interest, relevance, or significance
a dead issue
b.
(1) : lacking currency : defunct , obsolete
a dead custom
(2) of a language : no longer in ordinary spoken use
c. : no longer active : extinct
a dead volcano
d. : lacking in fervor or warmth
a dead description
: lacking in gaiety, animation, or amusing quality
a very dead party
e.
(1) : lacking in commercial activity : quiet
a dead produce market
(2) : commercially idle or unproductive
dead capital
: lacking in salability : being unsold
dead stock
f. : lacking responsiveness or elasticity
a dead tennis ball
a dead string on a viol
g. : out of action or out of use
a dead electric circuit
a dead telephone line
dead storage
h.
(1) of a ball : out of play
in football the ball is dead after an incompleted forward pass
(2) of a player : temporarily forbidden to play or make a certain play
a croquet player may be dead on another player's ball
i. printing
(1) : being something that has been used or is not to be used
dead copy
dead type
dead artwork
(2) : being something that is routed or to be routed off as not meant to print
dead -metal areas in engravings and electrotypes
j. : out of play : not usable
a hand that is not eligible to win is dead
k. : having a density greater than water — used of oils distilled from tar
l. : having lost the qualities required for workability
dead plaster will not set hard when mixed with water
dead stone, yielding a dull thud when struck with the sculptor's hammer
5.
a. : not running or circulating : stagnant
dead water
dead air
b. : not turning
the dead center of a lathe
cut between a dead knife blade and a turning one
c. of mail : undeliverable and unreturnable — see dead letter
6.
a. : having no fire, warmth, or glow
a dead cigar
a dead fire
b. : lacking brilliance or luster : dull
a dead glossy finish
c. : lacking tang or taste
a dead wine
d. : muffled , deadened
a dead sound
7. : having a quality of completeness or finality
8.
a.
(1) : unrelieved by any breaks or deviations : absolutely uniform — often used in the phrase dead level
the dead level of a prairie
reducing all to a dead level of mediocrity
(2) : characterized by the utmost exertion of effort, physical or mental
a dead pull
b.
(1) : completely certain as to outcome : inescapable , unerring
a dead shot with a rifle
: exact
hit the dead center of the target
(2) : as good as dead : doomed
a dead pigeon
(3) : irrevocable , unrecoverable
a dead loss
c. : marked by complete and sudden cessation (as of motion or action) : abrupt
brought to a dead stop
stopped him dead in his tracks
d. : complete , total , absolute
a dead silence fell
spoke with dead certainty of his return
9. : being abandoned by its former human occupants : deserted
a dead mining town
dead villages
10. : characterized by high absorption of sound : anechoic
a dead wall
11. : free from any connection to a source of voltage and free from electric charges : having the same potential as that of the ground — used of current-carrying apparatus or circuits that may at other times be alive
12.
a. : lacking motion
the dead spindle of a lathe
b. : not imparting motion or power although otherwise functioning
the dead rear axle of a floating transmission
c. : having the principal function in abeyance
the dead time between power strokes
d. : marked by a delay in operation or by inactivity between operations or actions — used in referring to a mechanical or electronic device
dead time of a counter
II. noun
( plural dead )
Etymology: Middle English deed
1. : one that is dead — now usually used collectively
the dead and the living
2. : the time of greatest quiet : the period of profoundest inertness or gloom
the dead of winter
when the drum beat at dead of night — Thomas Campbell
3. : something dead: as
a. dead plural : refuse from a mine
b. slang : an article of dead mail
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English deden, from Old English dēadian to die, from dēad, adjective
intransitive verb
obsolete : die
transitive verb
chiefly dialect : deaden
IV. adverb
Etymology: dead (I)
1.
a. : to a degree or in a manner resembling or characteristic of death : to the last degree : absolutely , utterly , entirely , exactly
dead ripe
dead -tired
dead certain
b. dialect Britain : extremely , very
it seems to me dead strange — C.J.Dennis
2. : with suddenness and completeness
he stopped dead
3. : directly
the police were dead against the plan
a dead -square opening
V. ˈded, -ē-, -ā- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English dede, deed, probably alteration (influenced by deed, adjective) of deeth — more at death
dialect Britain : death
VI. adjective
•
- dead in the water