Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Dead
Dead
(dĕd)
, Adj.
1.
Deprived of life; – opposed to
“The queen, my lord, is dead.” alive
and living
; reduced to that state of a being in which the organs of motion and life have irrevocably ceased to perform their functions; as, a
dead
tree; a dead
man. Shak.
The crew, all except himself, were
dead
of hunger. Arbuthnot.
Seek him with candle, bring him
dead
or living. Shakespeare
2.
Destitute of life; inanimate;
as,
. dead
matter3.
Resembling death in appearance or quality; without show of life; deathlike;
as, a
. dead
sleep4.
Still as death; motionless; inactive; useless;
as,
dead
calm; a dead
load or weight.5.
So constructed as not to transmit sound; soundless;
as, a
. dead
floor6.
Unproductive; bringing no gain; unprofitable;
as,
dead
capital; dead
stock in trade.7.
Lacking spirit; dull; lusterless; cheerless;
as,
dead
eye; dead
fire; dead
color, etc.8.
Monotonous or unvaried;
“The ground is a dead flat.” as, a
dead
level or pain; a dead
wall. C. Reade.
9.
Sure as death; unerring; fixed; complete;
as, a
dead
shot; a dead
certainty.I had them a
dead
bargain. Goldsmith.
10.
Bringing death; deadly.
Shak.
11.
Wanting in religious spirit and vitality;
“Dead in trespasses.” as,
dead
faith; dead
works. Eph. ii. 1.
12.
(Paint.)
(a)
Flat; without gloss; – said of painting which has been applied purposely to have this effect.
(b)
Not brilliant; not rich;
thus, brown is a
. dead
color, as compared with crimson13.
(Law)
Cut off from the rights of a citizen; deprived of the power of enjoying the rights of property;
as, one banished or becoming a monk is civilly
. dead
14.
(Mach.)
Not imparting motion or power;
as, the
See dead
spindle of a lathe, etc. Spindle
. Dead ahead
(Naut.)
, directly ahead; – said of a ship or any object, esp. of the wind when blowing from that point toward which a vessel would go.
– Dead angle
(Mil.)
, an angle or space which can not be seen or defended from behind the parapet.
– Dead block
, either of two wooden or iron blocks intended to serve instead of buffers at the end of a freight car.
– Dead calm
(Naut.)
, no wind at all.
– Dead center
, or
Dead point
(Mach.)
, either of two points in the orbit of a crank, at which the crank and connecting rod lie a straight line. It corresponds to the end of a stroke; as, A and B are dead centers of the crank mechanism in which the crank C drives, or is driven by, the lever L.
– Dead color
(Paint.)
, a color which has no gloss upon it.
– Dead coloring
(Oil paint.)
, the layer of colors, the preparation for what is to follow. In modern painting this is usually in monochrome.
– Dead door
(Shipbuilding)
, a storm shutter fitted to the outside of the quarter-gallery door.
– Dead flat
(Naut.)
, the widest or midship frame.
– Dead freight
(Mar. Law)
, a sum of money paid by a person who charters a whole vessel but fails to make out a full cargo. The payment is made for the unoccupied capacity.
Abbott.
– Dead ground
(Mining)
, the portion of a vein in which there is no ore.
– Dead hand
, a hand that can not alienate, as of a person civilly dead.
“Serfs held in dead hand.” Morley.
See
– Mortmain
. Dead head
(Naut.)
, a rough block of wood used as an anchor buoy.
– Dead heat
, a heat or course between two or more race horses, boats, etc., in which they come out exactly equal, so that neither wins.
– Dead horse
, an expression applied to a debt for wages paid in advance.
[Law]
– Dead language
, a language which is no longer spoken or in common use by a people, and is known only in writings, as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
– Dead letter
. (a)
A letter which, after lying for a certain fixed time uncalled for at the post office to which it was directed, is then sent to the general post office to be opened.
(b)
That which has lost its force or authority; as, the law has become a dead letter.
– Dead-letter office
, a department of the general post office where dead letters are examined and disposed of.
– Dead level
, a term applied to a flat country.
– Dead lift
, (a)
a direct lift, without assistance from mechanical advantage, as from levers, pulleys, etc.; hence, an extreme emergency.
“(As we say) at a dead lift.” Robynson (More’s Utopia).
(b)
(Weighlifting)
The lifting of a weight from the ground, without raising it to the shoulders.
– Dead line
(Mil.)
, a line drawn within or around a military prison, to cross which involves for a prisoner the penalty of being instantly shot.
– Dead load
(Civil Engin.)
, a constant, motionless load, as the weight of a structure, in distinction from a moving load, as a train of cars, or a variable pressure, as of wind.
– Dead march
(Mus.)
, a piece of solemn music intended to be played as an accompaniment to a funeral procession.
– Dead nettle
(Bot.)
, a harmless plant with leaves like a nettle (
– Lamium album
). Dead oil
(Chem.)
, the heavy oil obtained in the distillation of coal tar, and containing phenol, naphthalus, etc.
– Dead plate
(Mach.)
, a solid covering over a part of a fire grate, to prevent the entrance of air through that part.
– Dead pledge
, a mortgage. See
– Mortgage
. Dead point
. (Mach.)
See
– Dead center
. Dead reckoning
(Naut.)
, the method of determining the place of a ship from a record kept of the courses sailed as given by compass, and the distance made on each course as found by log, with allowance for leeway, etc., without the aid of celestial observations.
– Dead rise
, the transverse upward curvature of a vessel's floor.
– Dead rising
, an elliptical line drawn on the sheer plan to determine the sweep of the floorheads throughout the ship's length.
– Dead-Sea apple
. See under
– Apple
. Dead set
. See under
– Set
. Dead shot
. (a)
An unerring marksman.
(b)
A shot certain to be made.
– Dead smooth
, the finest cut made; – said of files.
– Dead wall
(Arch.)
, a blank wall unbroken by windows or other openings.
– Dead water
(Naut.)
, the eddy water closing in under a ship's stern when sailing.
– Dead weight
. (a)
A heavy or oppressive burden.
Dryden.
(b)
(Shipping)
A ship's lading, when it consists of heavy goods; or, the heaviest part of a ship's cargo.
(c)
(Railroad)
The weight of rolling stock, the live weight being the load.
Knight.
– Dead wind
(Naut.)
, a wind directly ahead, or opposed to the ship's course.
– To be dead
, to die.
[Obs.]
Syn. – Inanimate; deceased; extinct. See
Lifeless
. Dead
(dĕd)
, adv.
To a degree resembling death; to the last degree; completely; wholly.
[Colloq.]
I was tired of reading, and
dead
sleepy. Dickens.
Dead drunk
, so drunk as to be unconscious.
Dead
(dĕd)
, Noun.
1.
The most quiet or deathlike time; the period of profoundest repose, inertness, or gloom;
as, the
. dead
of winterWhen the drum beat at
dead
of night. Campbell.
2.
One who is dead; – commonly used collectively.
And Abraham stood up from before his
dead
. Gen. xxiii. 3.
Dead
,Verb.
T.
To make dead; to deaden; to deprive of life, force, or vigor.
[Obs.]
Heaven's stern decree,
With many an ill, hath numbed and
With many an ill, hath numbed and
deaded
me. Chapman.
Dead
,Verb.
I.
To die; to lose life or force.
[Obs.]
So iron, as soon as it is out of the fire,
deadeth
straightway. Bacon.
Webster 1828 Edition
Dead
DEAD
,Definition 2024
dead
dead
See also: déad
English
Adjective
dead (comparative deader, superlative deadest)
- (not comparable) No longer living.
- All of my grandparents are dead.
- (hyperbolic) Figuratively, not alive; lacking life.
- 1600, William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act III, Scene 3:
- 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.
-
- (of another person) So hated that they are absolutely ignored.
- He is dead to me.
- I will think of you as dead, until my husband makes you that way. Then I will think of you no longer. - Mary, Rob Roy
- Without emotion.
- She stood with dead face and limp arms, unresponsive to my plea.
- Stationary; static.
- the dead load on the floor
- a dead lift.
- Without interest to one of the senses; dull; flat.
- dead air
- a dead glass of soda.
- Unproductive.
- dead time
- dead fields
- (not comparable, of a machine, device, or electrical circuit) Completely inactive; without power; without a signal.
- OK, the circuit's dead. Go ahead and cut the wire.
- Now that the motor's dead you can reach in and extract the spark plugs.
- (not comparable) Broken or inoperable.
- That monitor is dead; don’t bother hooking it up.
- (not comparable) No longer used or required.
- There are several dead laws still on the books regulating where horses may be hitched.
- Is this beer glass dead?
- (not comparable, sports) Not in play.
- Once the ball crosses the foul line, it's dead.
- (not comparable, golf, of a golf ball) Lying so near the hole that the player is certain to hole it in the next stroke.
- (not comparable, baseball, slang, 1800s) Tagged out.
- (not comparable) Full and complete.
- dead stop
- dead sleep
- dead giveaway
- dead silence
- (not comparable) Exact.
- dead center
- dead aim
- a dead eye
- a dead level
- Experiencing pins and needles (paresthesia).
- After sitting on my hands for a while, my arms became dead.
- (informal) (Certain to be) in big trouble.
- "You come back here this instant! Oh, when I get my hands on you, you're dead, mister!"
- Constructed so as not to transmit sound; soundless.
- a dead floor
- (obsolete) Bringing death; deadly.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
- (law) Cut off from the rights of a citizen; deprived of the power of enjoying the rights of property.
- A person who is banished or who becomes a monk is civilly dead.
- (engineering) Not imparting motion or power.
- the dead spindle of a lathe
Quotations
- For usage examples of this term, see Citations:dead.
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:dead
Antonyms
Translations
no longer alive
|
|
figuratively, not alive
fully and completely motionless
|
|
without emotion
of a device: completely inactive; without power
broken or inoperable
no longer used or required
|
experiencing pins and needles
Adverb
dead (not comparable)
- (degree) Exactly right.
- dead right; dead level; dead flat; dead straight; dead left
- He hit the target dead in the centre.
- (degree) Very, absolutely, extremely, suddenly.
- 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;
- As if dead.
- dead tired; dead quiet; dead asleep; dead pale; dead cold; dead still
- (Can we date this quote?) Charles Dickens
- I was tired of reading, and dead sleepy.
Translations
Exactly right
Very, absolutely, extremely, suddenly
Noun
dead (uncountable)
-
(singular only) Time when coldness, darkness, or stillness is most intense.
- The dead of night. The dead of winter.
dead pl (plural only)
- (with "the") Those who have died.
- Have respect for the dead.
Synonyms
- (those who have died): the deceased
Translations
time when coldness, darkness, or stillness is most intense
those who have died
|
|
Verb
dead (third-person singular simple present deads, present participle deading, simple past and past participle deaded)
- (archaic) Formerly, "be dead" was used instead of "have died" as the perfect tense of "die".
- "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead [ἀπέθανεν] in vain." Galatians 2:21, King James Version (1611).
- (transitive) To prevent by disabling; stop.
- 1826, The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Edward Reynolds, Lord Bishop of Norwich, collected by Edward Reynolds, Benedict Riveley, and Alexander Chalmers. pp. 227. London: B. Holdsworth.
- “What a man should do, when finds his natural impotency dead him in spiritual works”
- 1826, The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Edward Reynolds, Lord Bishop of Norwich, collected by Edward Reynolds, Benedict Riveley, and Alexander Chalmers. pp. 227. London: B. Holdsworth.
- (transitive) To make dead; to deaden; to deprive of life, force, or vigour.
- Chapman
- Heaven's stern decree, / With many an ill, hath numbed and deaded me.
- Chapman
- (Britain, transitive, slang) To kill.
- 2006, Leighanne Boyd, Once Upon A Time In The Bricks (page 178)
- This dude at the club was trying to kill us so I deaded him, and then I had to collect from Spice.
- 2008, Marvlous Harrison, The Coalition (page 106)
- “What, you was just gonna dead him because if that's the case then why the **** we getting the money?” Sha asked annoyed.
- 2006, Leighanne Boyd, Once Upon A Time In The Bricks (page 178)
Related terms
Derived terms
Terms derived from the adjective, adverb, noun, or verb dead
Statistics
Anagrams
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *daudaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰautós, originally a past participle. Cognate with Old Frisian dād (West Frisian dead), Old Saxon dōd, Dutch dood, Old High German tōt (German tot), Old Norse dauðr (Swedish död), Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (dauþs).
Pronunciation
Adjective
dēad
Declension
| Weak | Strong | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| case | singular | plural | case | singular | plural | ||||||||
| m | n | f | m | n | f | m | n | f | |||||
| nominative | dēada | dēade | dēade | dēadan | nom. | dēad | dēade | dēad | dēada, -e | ||||
| accusative | dēadan | dēade | dēadan | acc. | dēadne | dēad | dēade | dēade | dēad | dēada, -e | |||
| genitive | dēadan | dēadra, dēadena | gen. | dēades | dēades | dēadre | dēadra | ||||||
| dative | dēadan | dēadum | dat. | dēadum | dēadum | dēadre | dēadum | ||||||
| instrumental | dēade | ||||||||||||
Related terms
See also
Descendants
Volapük
Etymology
Borrowing from English dead or death (with the "th" changed to "d").
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [deˈad]
Noun
dead (plural deads)
Declension
declension of dead
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | dead | deads |
| genitive | deada | deadas |
| dative | deade | deades |
| accusative | deadi | deadis |
| predicative | deadu | deadus |
| vocative | o dead! | o deads! |