Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

dead and buried

 - 2 dictionary results
dead   (děd)   
adj.   dead·er, dead·est
  1. Having lost life; no longer alive.

  2. Marked for certain death; doomed: was marked as a dead man by the assassin.

    1. Having the physical appearance of death: a dead pallor.

    2. Lacking feeling or sensitivity; numb or unresponsive: Passersby were dead to our pleas for help.

    3. Weary and worn-out; exhausted.

    4. Not having the capacity to live; inanimate or inert.

    5. Not having the capacity to produce or sustain life; barren: dead soil.

    6. No longer in existence, use, or operation.

    7. No longer having significance or relevance.

    8. Physically inactive; dormant: a dead volcano.

    9. Not commercially productive; idle: dead capital.

    10. Not circulating or running; stagnant: dead water; dead air.

    11. Devoid of human or vehicular activity; quiet: a dead town.

    12. Lacking all animation, excitement, or activity; dull: The party being dead, we left early.

    13. Sudden; abrupt: a dead stop.

    14. Complete; utter: dead silence.

    15. Exact; unerring. the dead center of a target.

    16. Lacking connection to a source of electric current.

    17. Drained of electric charge; discharged: a dead battery.

    1. Not having the capacity to live; inanimate or inert.

    2. Not having the capacity to produce or sustain life; barren: dead soil.

    3. No longer in existence, use, or operation.

    4. No longer having significance or relevance.

    5. Physically inactive; dormant: a dead volcano.

    6. Not commercially productive; idle: dead capital.

    7. Not circulating or running; stagnant: dead water; dead air.

    8. Devoid of human or vehicular activity; quiet: a dead town.

    9. Lacking all animation, excitement, or activity; dull: The party being dead, we left early.

    10. Sudden; abrupt: a dead stop.

    11. Complete; utter: dead silence.

    12. Exact; unerring. the dead center of a target.

    13. Lacking connection to a source of electric current.

    14. Drained of electric charge; discharged: a dead battery.

    1. No longer in existence, use, or operation.

    2. No longer having significance or relevance.

    3. Physically inactive; dormant: a dead volcano.

    4. Not commercially productive; idle: dead capital.

    5. Not circulating or running; stagnant: dead water; dead air.

    6. Devoid of human or vehicular activity; quiet: a dead town.

    7. Lacking all animation, excitement, or activity; dull: The party being dead, we left early.

    8. Sudden; abrupt: a dead stop.

    9. Complete; utter: dead silence.

    10. Exact; unerring. the dead center of a target.

    11. Lacking connection to a source of electric current.

    12. Drained of electric charge; discharged: a dead battery.

    1. Not commercially productive; idle: dead capital.

    2. Not circulating or running; stagnant: dead water; dead air.

    3. Devoid of human or vehicular activity; quiet: a dead town.

    4. Lacking all animation, excitement, or activity; dull: The party being dead, we left early.

    5. Sudden; abrupt: a dead stop.

    6. Complete; utter: dead silence.

    7. Exact; unerring. the dead center of a target.

    8. Lacking connection to a source of electric current.

    9. Drained of electric charge; discharged: a dead battery.

    1. Devoid of human or vehicular activity; quiet: a dead town.

    2. Lacking all animation, excitement, or activity; dull: The party being dead, we left early.

    3. Sudden; abrupt: a dead stop.

    4. Complete; utter: dead silence.

    5. Exact; unerring. the dead center of a target.

    6. Lacking connection to a source of electric current.

    7. Drained of electric charge; discharged: a dead battery.

  3. Having no resonance. Used of sounds: "One characteristic of compact discs we all can hear is dead sound. It may be pure but it has no life" (Musical Heritage Review).

  4. Having grown cold; having been extinguished: dead coals; a dead flame.

  5. Lacking elasticity or bounce: That tennis ball is dead.

  6. Out of operation because of a fault or breakdown: The motor is dead.

    1. Sudden; abrupt: a dead stop.

    2. Complete; utter: dead silence.

    3. Exact; unerring. the dead center of a target.

    4. Lacking connection to a source of electric current.

    5. Drained of electric charge; discharged: a dead battery.

  7. Sports Out of play. Used of a ball.

    1. Lacking connection to a source of electric current.

    2. Drained of electric charge; discharged: a dead battery.

n.  
  1. One who has died: respect for the dead.

  2. The period exhibiting the greatest degree of intensity: the dead of winter; the dead of night.

adv.  
  1. Absolutely; altogether: You can be dead sure of my innocence.

  2. Directly; exactly: There's a gas station dead ahead.

  3. Suddenly: She stopped dead on the stairway.


[Middle English ded, from Old English dēad; see dheu-2 in Indo-European roots.]
dead'ness n.
Synonyms: These adjectives all mean without life. Dead applies in general to whatever once had—but no longer has—physical life (a dead man; a dead leaf), function (a dead battery), or force or currency (a dead issue; a dead language). Deceased and departed refer only to nonliving humans: attended a memorial service for a recently deceased friend; looking at pictures of departed relatives.
Extinct can refer to what has no living successors (extinct species such as the dodo) or to what is extinguished or inactive (an extinct volcano). Lifeless applies to what no longer has physical life (a lifeless body), to what does not support life (a lifeless planet), or to what lacks animation, spirit, or brightness (a lifeless performance; lifeless colors). Inanimate is most often limited to what has never had physical life: "The anchored gunboat simply would not sink. It evinced that unnatural stubbornness which is sometimes displayed by inanimate objects" (Stephen Crane).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Idioms & Phrases

dead and buried

Also, dead and gone. Long forgotten, no longer in use, as in That argument is dead and buried, or No point in worrying about regulations that are long dead and gone. This figurative use of "having died" is usually applied to some issue. [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see dead and buried on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: