dead : Idioms & Phrases

• a thing of no use or value. 1 Sam. xxiv. 14.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite having irreversible loss of brain function as indicated by a persistent flat electroencephalogram
  
  • was declared brain dead

WordNet

• adverb exactly ahead or in front
  
  • the laboratory is dead ahead

WordNet

• (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.

Webster 1913

• noun an inadvertent interruption in a broadcast during which there is no sound
  

WordNet

• (Mil.), an angle or space which can not be seen or defended from behind the parapet.

Webster 1913

• noun an axle that carries a wheel but without power to drive it
  

WordNet

Dead` beat"

Definitions

1. See Beat, n., 7. Low, U.S.

Webster 1913

• either of two wooden or iron blocks intended to serve instead of buffers at the end of a freight car.

Webster 1913

• noun a natural object consisting of a dead animal or person
  body.
  
  • they found the body in the lake

WordNet

• (Naut.), no wind at all.

Webster 1913

• noun the position of a crank when it is in line with the connecting rod and not exerting torque
  dead center.
  

WordNet

• (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.

Webster 1913

• noun the position of a crank when it is in line with the connecting rod and not exerting torque
  dead center.
  

WordNet

• (Paint.), a color which has no gloss upon it.

Webster 1913

• (Oil paint.), the layer of colors, the preparation for what is to follow. In modern painting this is usually in monochrome.

Webster 1913

• (Shipbuilding), a storm shutter fitted to the outside of the quarter-gallery door.

Webster 1913

• noun a drop used for the clandestine exchange of intelligence information
  
  • a dead drop avoids the need for an intelligence officer and a spy to be present at the same time

WordNet

• so drunk as to be unconscious.

Webster 1913

• noun something doomed to failure
  
  • he finally admitted that the legislation was a dead duck
  • the idea of another TV channel is now a dead duck
  • as theories go, that's a dead duck

WordNet

• noun a passage with access only at one end
  cul; cul de sac.
  
• noun a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible
  impasse; deadlock; standstill; stalemate.
  
  • reached an impasse on the negotiations

WordNet

• (Naut.), the widest or midship frame.

Webster 1913

• (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.

Webster 1913

• (Mining), the portion of a vein in which there is no ore.

Webster 1913

• noun real property held inalienably (as by an ecclesiastical corporation)
  mortmain.
  
• noun the oppressive influence of past events or decisions
  mortmain; dead hand.
  

WordNet

• a hand that can not alienate, as of a person civilly dead. "Serfs held in dead hand." Morley. See Mortmain.

Webster 1913

• noun the oppressive influence of past events or decisions
  mortmain; dead hand.
  

WordNet

• (Naut.), a rough block of wood used as an anchor buoy.

Webster 1913

• noun a tie in a race
  

WordNet

• a heat or course between two or more race horses, boats, etc., in which they come out exactly equal, so that neither wins.

Webster 1913

• an expression applied to a debt for wages paid in advance. Law

Webster 1913

• noun a language that is no longer learned as a native language
  

WordNet

• 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.

Webster 1913

• noun the state of something that has outlived its relevance
  non-issue.
  
• noun mail that can neither be delivered nor returned
  dead letter.
  

WordNet

• . (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.

Webster 1913

• a term applied to a flat country.

Webster 1913

• 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).

Webster 1913

• (Mil.), a line drawn within or around a military prison, to cross which involves for a prisoner the penalty of being instantly shot.

Webster 1913

• noun a constant load on a structure (e.g. a bridge) due to the weight of the supported structure itself
  

WordNet

• (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.

Webster 1913

• noun mail that can neither be delivered nor returned
  dead letter.
  

WordNet

• noun a slow march to be played for funeral processions
  funeral march.
  

WordNet

• (Mus.), a piece of solemn music intended to be played as an accompaniment to a funeral procession.

Webster 1913

• noun a metaphor that has occurred so often that it has become a new meaning of the expression (e.g., `he is a snake' may once have been a metaphor but after years of use it has died and become a new sense of the word `snake')
  frozen metaphor.
  

WordNet

• noun foul-smelling perennial Eurasiatic herb with a green creeping rhizome
  hedge nettle; Stachys sylvatica.
  
• noun any of various plants of the genus Lamium having clusters of small usually purplish flowers with two lips
  
• noun coarse bristly Eurasian plant with white or reddish flowers and foliage resembling that of a nettle; common as a weed in United States
  hemp nettle; Galeopsis tetrahit.
  
• noun a plants of the genus Pilea having drooping green flower clusters and smooth translucent stems and leaves
  richweed; Pilea pumilla; clearweed.
  

WordNet

• (Bot.), a harmless plant with leaves like a nettle (Lamium album).

Webster 1913

• (Chem.), the heavy oil obtained in the distillation of coal tar, and containing phenol, naphthalus, etc.

Webster 1913

• adjective satellite accurately placed or thrown
  true.
  
  • his aim was true
  • he was dead on target

WordNet

• noun someone who is no longer alive
  dead person; decedent; departed; deceased person; deceased.
  
  • I wonder what the dead person would have done

WordNet

• (Mach.), a solid covering over a part of a fire grate, to prevent the entrance of air through that part.

Webster 1913

• a mortgage. See Mortgage.

Webster 1913

• . (Mach.) See Dead center.

Webster 1913

• noun an estimate based on little or no information
  guesswork; guess; shot; guessing.
  
• noun navigation without the aid of celestial observations
  

WordNet

• (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.

Webster 1913

• noun a person who is almost identical to another
  ringer; clone.
  

WordNet

• the transverse upward curvature of a vessel's floor.

Webster 1913

• an elliptical line drawn on the sheer plan to determine the sweep of the floorheads throughout the ship's length.

Webster 1913

• noun a building (or room) where dead bodies are kept before burial or cremation
  morgue; mortuary.
  

WordNet

• noun a saltwater lake on the border between Israel and Jordan; its surface in 1292 feet below sea level
  

WordNet

• noun (Old Testament) a collection of written scrolls (containing nearly all of the Old Testament) found in a cave near the Dead Sea in the late 1940s
  
  • the Dead Sea Scrolls provide information about Judaism and the Bible around the time of Jesus

WordNet

• adjective satellite fixed in your purpose
  bent on; bent; out to.
  
  • bent on going to the theater
  • dead set against intervening
  • out to win every event

WordNet

• . See under Set.

Webster 1913

• . (a) An unerring marksman. (b) A shot certain to be made.

Webster 1913

• the finest cut made; said of files.

Webster 1913

• noun someone who is no longer alive
  dead person; decedent; departed; deceased person; deceased.
  
  • I wonder what the dead person would have done

WordNet

• (Arch.), a blank wall unbroken by windows or other openings.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), the eddy water closing in under a ship's stern when sailing.

Webster 1913

• noun an oppressive encumbrance
  
• noun a heavy motionless weight
  

WordNet

• . (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.

Webster 1913

• (Naut.), a wind directly ahead, or opposed to the ship's course.

Webster 1913

• noun an unventilated area where no air circulates
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite lacking opportunities for development or advancement
  
  • stuck in a dead-end job

WordNet

• noun a street with only one way in or out
  blind alley; impasse; cul de sac.
  

WordNet

Dead"-eye` noun

Definitions

1. (Naut.) A round, flattish, wooden block, encircled by a rope, or an iron band, and pierced with three holes to receive the lanyard; -- used to extend the shrouds and stays, and for other purposes. Called also deadman's eye. Totten.

Webster 1913

• a department of the general post office where dead letters are examined and disposed of.

Webster 1913

• noun a floating position with the face down and arms stretched forward
  prone float.
  

WordNet

• noun the fruiting bodies of the fungi of the genus Xylaria
  dead-man's-fingers; Xylaria polymorpha.
  

WordNet

• noun the fruiting bodies of the fungi of the genus Xylaria
  dead-man's-fingers; Xylaria polymorpha.
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite accurate and to the point
  
  • a dead-on feel for characterization
  • She avoids big scenes...preferring to rely on small gestures and dead-on dialogue"- Peter S.Prescott

WordNet

Dead"-pay` noun

Definitions

1. Pay drawn for soldiers, or others, really dead, whose names are kept on the rolls.

   O you commanders, That, like me, have no dead-pays. Massinger.

Webster 1913

Dead"-reck`on*ing noun

Definitions

1. (Naut.) See under Dead, a.

Webster 1913

• . See under Apple.

Webster 1913

Dead"-stroke` adjective

Definitions

1. (Mech.) Making a stroke without recoil; deadbeat.

Webster 1913

• verb pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
  decease; give-up the ghost; pop off; perish; die; buy the farm; snuff it; choke; pass away; expire; exit; croak; pass; go; kick the bucket; conk; cash in one's chips.
  
  • She died from cancer
  • The children perished in the fire
  • The patient went peacefully
  • The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102

WordNet

• adverb extremely
  
  • she was drop-dead gorgeous

WordNet

• noun a dead body that has been brought back to life by a supernatural force
  zombie; zombi.
  

WordNet

• noun an office read or sung before a burial mass in the Roman Catholic Church
  

WordNet

• adjective satellite as lifeless as a stone
  

WordNet

Stone"-dead` adjective

Definitions

1. As dead as a stone.

Webster 1913

• verb stop moving or become immobilized
  freeze.
  
  • When he saw the police car he froze

WordNet

• to die. Obs.

Webster 1913

• to make a determined onset, literally or figuratively.

Webster 1913

• noun European dead nettle with white flowers
  Lamium album.
  

WordNet