ded adj., adv., & n. --adj. 1 no longer
alive. 2 colloq. extremely
tired or
unwell. 3 benumbed;
affected by
loss of
sensation (my fingers are dead). 4 (foll. by to)
unappreciative or
unconscious of;
insensitive to. 5 no longer
effective or in
use;
obsolete,
extinct. 6 (of a match, of
coal, etc.) no longer
burning; extinguished. 7
inanimate. 8 a
lacking force or
vigour;
dull, lustreless, muffled. b (of sound)
not resonant. c (of sparkling
wine etc.) no longer effervescent. 9 a
quiet; lacking
activity (the dead season). b motionless,
idle. 10 a (of a
microphone,
telephone, etc.) not transmitting
any sound,
esp.
because of a
fault. b (of a
circuit,
conductor, etc.) carrying or transmitting no
current; not
connected to a
source of
electricity (a dead battery). 11 (of
the ball in a game)
out of
play. 12
abrupt,
complete,
exact,
unqualified,
unrelieved (come to a dead
stop; a dead
faint; a dead
calm; in dead
silence; a dead certainty). 13
without spiritual life. --adv. 1
absolutely,
exactly, completely (dead on
target; dead
level; dead tired). 2 colloq.
very, extremely (dead
good; dead easy). --n. (prec. by the) 1 (treated as pl.)
those who have died. 2 a
time of silence or inactivity (the dead of night). ødead-and-alive
Brit. (of a
place,
person, activity, etc.) dull,
monotonous; lacking
interest. dead as the
dodo see DODO. dead as a
doornail see DOORNAIL. dead bat Cricket a bat
held loosely so
that it imparts no
motion to the ball
when struck. dead
beat 1 colloq. exhausted. 2
Physics (of an instrument) without
recoil. dead-beat n. 1 colloq. a
penniless person. 2 US sl. a person constantly in
debt. dead
centre 1 the exact centre. 2 the
position of a crank etc. in line
with the connecting-rod
and not exerting
torque. dead
cert see CERT. dead duck sl. an
unsuccessful or
useless person or
thing. dead
end 1 a
closed end of a road, passage, etc. 2 (often (with hyphen) attrib.) a
situation offering no prospects of
progress or
advancement. dead-eye Naut. a
round flat three-holed
block for extending shrouds. dead
from the
neck up colloq.
stupid. dead
hand an
oppressive persisting
influence, esp.
posthumous control. dead
heat 1 a race in
which two or
more competitors
finish exactly level. 2 the
result of
such a race. dead-heat v.intr.
run a dead heat. dead
language a language no longer commonly
spoken, e.g.
Latin. dead
letter a
law or
practice no longer observed or recognized. dead
lift the exertion of one's
utmost strength to lift
something. dead loss 1 colloq. a useless person or thing. 2 a complete loss. dead man's fingers 1 a kind of
orchis, Orchis mascula. 2 any
soft coral of the
genus Alcyonium, with
spongy lobes. 3 the finger-like divisions of a lobster's or crab's gills. dead man's
handle (or pedal etc.) a controlling-device on an
electric train, allowing
power to be connected
only as long as the
operator presses on
it. dead
march a
funeral march. dead
men colloq. bottles
after the contents have
been drunk. dead-nettle any
plant of the genus Lamium, having nettle-like
leaves but without stinging hairs. dead-on exactly
right. dead
reckoning Naut.
calculation of a ship's position from the log,
compass,
etc., when observations are
impossible. dead
ringer see RINGER. dead shot
one who is extremely
accurate. dead time Physics the
period after the
recording of a pulse etc. when the
detector is
unable to
record another. dead to the
world colloq. fast
asleep; unconscious. dead
weight (or dead-weight) 1 a an
inert mass. b a
heavy weight or
burden. 2 a debt not covered by assets. 3 the
total weight carried on a
ship. dead
wood colloq. one or more useless
people or things.
make a dead set at see
SET(2). wouldn't be
seen dead in (or with etc.) colloq.
shall have
nothing to do with; shall refuse to wear etc. øødeadness n. [OE dead f. Gmc, rel. to DIE(1)]