Dead Definition
(archaic) Formerly, "be dead" was used instead of "have died" as the perfect tense of "die".
(UK, slang) To kill.
- No longer in use or under consideration:
All past animosities are dead and buried now.
- Unable to function or move:
The crippled ship was dead in the water. With no leadership, the project was dead in the water.
- In the very act of making an error or committing a crime:
The police caught the thief dead to rights with my silverware.
- Soundly asleep.
- Used to express dramatic refusal.
Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Dead
Origin of Dead
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From Middle English ded, deed, from Old English dēad, from Proto-Germanic *daudaz. Compare West Frisian dead, Dutch dood, German tot, Danish død.
From Wiktionary
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Middle English ded from Old English dēad dheu-2 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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