Dead Longer Ded Died Shot Dropped Leaves/Wood/Skin Lay

• my mother's dead; she died in 1987.
• a dead person/animal
• dead leaves/wood/skin
• he was shot dead by a gunman outside his home.

dead

1. no longer alive
• My mother's dead; she died in 1987.
• a dead person/animal
• dead leaves/wood/skin
• He was shot dead by a gunman outside his home.
• Catherine's dead body lay peacefully on the bed.
• He dropped dead (= died suddenly) last week.
• The poor child looks more dead than alive.
• In ten years he'll be dead and buried as a politician.
2. no longer believed in or aimed for
• Many believe the peace plan is dead.
• Unfortunately racism is not yet dead.
• Though the idea may be dead, it is far from being buried (= people still talk about it, even though there is nothing new to say).
3. belonging to the past; no longer practised or fashionable
• Is the Western a dead art form?
• a dead language (= one that is no longer spoken, for example Latin)
4. finished; not able to be used any more
• dead matches
• There were two dead bottles of wine on the table.
5. not working because of a lack of power
• a dead battery
• Suddenly the phone went dead.
6. very quiet, without activity or interest
• There were no theatres, no cinemas, no coffee bars. It was dead as anything.
7. without activity; with nobody buying or selling anything
• ‘The market is absolutely dead this morning,’ said one foreign exchange trader.
• Winter is traditionally the dead season for the housing market.
8. extremely tired; not well
• half dead with cold and hunger
• She felt dead on her feet and didn't have the energy to question them further.
9. unable to feel because of cold, etc.
• synonym numb
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/numb_1
• My left arm had gone dead.
10. unable to feel or understand emotions
• synonym insensitive
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/insensitive
• He was dead to all feelings of pity.
11. showing no emotion
• synonym expressionless
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/expressionless
• She said, ‘I'm sorry, too,’ in a quiet, dead voice.
• His usually dead grey eyes were sparkling.
12. complete or exact
• a dead silence/calm
• the dead centre of the target
• The car gave a sudden jerk and came to a dead stop.
• This horse is a dead cert for (= will certainly win) the race tomorrow.
• She crumpled to the floor in a dead faint (= completely unconscious).
13. never having been alive
• dead matter (= for example rock)
• a dead planet (= one with no life on it)
14. outside the playing area
15. to be dead
• You'll be sorry you said that when I'm dead and gone.
16. to look very like somebody
• She's a dead ringer for a girl I used to know.
17. completely dead; no longer interesting or valid
• In the second half both teams made substitutions to try and liven things up, but the game was as dead as a dodo.
18. completely dead
19. a plan, an event, etc. that has failed or is certain to fail and that is therefore not worth discussing
20. an influence that controls or restricts something
• We need to free business from the dead hand of bureaucracy.
21. a person or plan that is dead in the water has failed and has little hope of succeeding in the future
• His leadership campaign is dead in the water.
22. in serious trouble
• If anyone finds out, you're dead meat.
23. (of an accident victim or other patient) already dead when arriving at hospital
• She was pronounced dead on arrival.
• He didn’t even make it to hospital: DOA.
• Many of the casualties were dead on arrival.
24. very unlikely to be successful; not working when it is delivered
• The bill was dead on arrival in the Senate.
• The software was DOA.
25. fast asleep
26. to waste your effort by trying to do something that is no longer possible
27. to impress somebody very much
• You look fabulous—you'll knock 'em dead tonight.
28. used to show you are strongly opposed to something
• She moves into our home over my dead body.
29. used to say that you would not like to wear particular clothes, or to be in a particular situation
• She wouldn't be seen dead in a hat.
• He wouldn't be caught dead going to a club with his mother.

Extra Examples

• By the time the police arrived, he was already dead.
• Gunmen shot dead a policeman.
• Gunmen shot dead two unarmed police officers.
• He just dropped dead one day at work.
• He just dropped dead one day in his garden.
• His wife lay dead beside him.
• I’m afraid he’s quite dead.
• Poor child, she looks more dead than alive.
• She had been struck dead by lightning.
• She was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
• That won’t happen until long after I’m dead and gone.
• The animal will sometimes escape danger by playing dead.
• The woman was found dead with a rope around her neck.
• We didn’t know whether the fish was dead or alive.
• Catherine’s dead body lay peacefully on the bed.
• He dropped dead last week.
• My mother’s dead; she died in 1997.
• a dead person/animal/tree
• dead leaves/wood/skin

Word Origin

• Old English dēad, of Germanic origin: related to Dutch dood and German tot, also to die.