dead

I UK [ded] / US adjective
Word forms "dead":
adjective dead comparative deader superlative deadest
***

1)

a) no longer alive

The police don't know whether she's alive or dead.

He is grieving for his dead father.

I raked up the dead leaves.

a dead body:

Rescue workers are still pulling dead bodies out of the rubble.

leave someone dead:

The shootings left 14 people dead.

leave someone for dead (= leave them to die):

He was beaten and left for dead by a gang of teenagers.

be feared/presumed dead:

Three people are still missing, presumed dead.

clinically dead (= according to medical standards):

Doctors pronounced him clinically dead two days later.

more dead than alive (= very ill, weak, or badly injured):

They staggered down the mountain, more dead than alive.

dead and gone:

All of that generation are now dead and gone.

long dead (= dead for a long time):

By the time I had my children, Grandma was long dead.

b) the dead people who are dead

the dead and injured:

Fifteen of her relatives were among the dead and injured.

the dead and dying:

The bridge was soon blocked with the dead and dying.

bury the/your dead:

The people of the town now want to be left alone to bury their dead.

2) a piece of equipment that is dead is no longer working or able to receive an electrical signal

The battery was completely dead.

go dead:

The phone suddenly went dead.

3) a place, time, or situation that is dead is not very interesting because very little happens in it

The street seems dead without all the bustle of the children.

Winter is traditionally a dead time of year in the fashion business.

be far from dead:

Eleven minutes of this game remaining, and it's far from dead!

4) no longer considered useful, relevant, or likely to be successful

The idea of self-government for the area is now effectively dead.

Feminism is not dead.

be dead and buried (= have failed completely):

A government spokesman acknowledged that the peace process is dead and buried.

5) dead or half dead

[never before noun] informal very tired, weak, or ill

You kids seem half dead!

dead on your feet (= very tired but still standing):

By the time we had finished we were all dead on our feet.

6) if a part of your body is dead, you cannot feel it or move it normally

go dead:

My legs had gone completely dead.

7) if someone's eyes are dead, or if their voice is dead, they feel or show no emotion

She turned to him with her strange dead eyes.

8) [usually before noun] a dead language such as Latin is no longer used by people in their ordinary lives

9) [only before noun] complete

dead silence:

She finished speaking, and there was dead silence in the room.

dead centre:

The bullet hit the target dead centre (= exactly in the centre).

a dead stop:

The truck suddenly came to a dead stop.

in a dead faint (= completely unconscious):

She fell forward and hit the floor in a dead faint.

10) a place that is dead has no living plants or animals in it

11) a ball is dead in some games if it is outside the area on which the game is played, so that the game stops for a short time

12)

a) British informal a dead glass or bottle is one that you have finished drinking from

b) a dead match has already been used and is now useless

13) [never before noun] informal in serious trouble

If Louise catches you going through her purse, you're dead!

•

be in dead trouble/be dead meat — informal to be in serious trouble

You'll be in dead trouble when dad finds out!

rise from/come back from the dead — to become alive again after being dead

someone wouldn't be seen/caught dead — spoken used for saying that someone would never wear a particular type of clothing, go to a particular place, or take part in a particular activity because it is not fashionable

I wouldn't be seen dead in a jacket like that!

- a dead cert

- dead in the water

- dead to the world

- over my dead body

See:

drop I

II UK [ded] / US adverb
Word forms "dead":
comparative deader superlative deadest informal *

1) completely

You're dead right!

stop dead (in your tracks) (= completely and suddenly):

Rachel stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me with Andy.

be dead (set) against (doing) something (= oppose it completely):

My parents are dead against the idea of me going to South America.

be dead set on (doing) something (= be determined to do something despite opposition):

The director is dead set on this location.

dead on time (= at exactly the time arranged or expected):

The package arrived dead on time.

dead on target:

Most of his shots were dead on target.

2) very

That lesson was dead boring!

dead easy:

"I can't work the video." "I'll show you – it's dead easy."

dead tired:

I'm dead tired, but I can't miss this meeting.

3) directly

dead ahead:

I can see the station dead ahead.

III UK [ded] / US noun

in the dead of night/at (the) dead of night — mainly literary in the middle of the night, during the darkest and quietest time

They escaped in the dead of night.

- in the dead of winter