dead

dead1 [ ded ] adjective ***

▸ 1 no longer alive

▸ 2 not working

▸ 3 not interesting

▸ 4 no longer relevant

▸ 5 very weak/tired/sick

▸ 6 having no feeling

▸ 7 showing little emotion

▸ 8 no longer spoken

▸ 9 complete

▸ 10 in ball games

▸ 11 when place has no life

▸ 12 no longer being used

▸ 13 in trouble

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) 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.

be feared/presumed dead: Three people are still missing, presumed dead.

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.

long dead (=dead for a long time): By the time I had my children, Grandma was long dead.

dead and gone: All of that generation are now dead and gone.

more dead than alive (=very sick, weak, or badly injured): They staggered down the mountain, more dead than alive.

a ) 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.

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 sick:

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

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 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

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

12. ) BRITISH INFORMAL a dead glass or bottle is one you have finished drinking from

1

a ) 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

dead from the neck up BRITISH OFFENSIVE

very stupid

dead in the water

completely unlikely to succeed:

The peace process is now dead in the water.

dead to the world

sleeping in a way that makes it very difficult to wake you

drop dead SPOKEN

used for telling someone rudely to stop annoying you or to go away, or for saying that you refuse to do something

over my dead body SPOKEN

used for telling someone angrily that you will never allow something to happen

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!

dead

dead 2 [ ded ] adverb INFORMAL *

1. ) completely:

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 set 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.

a ) very:

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

2. ) directly:

dead ahead: I can see the service station dead ahead.

dead

dead 3 [ ded ] noun

in the dead of night MAINLY LITERARY

in the middle of the night, during the darkest and quietest time

in the dead of winter MAINLY LITERARY

in the middle of the winter during the worst, coldest period of it