dead in the water

[ded] Origin

dead

[ded] adjective, dead·er, dead·est, noun, adverb
adjective
1.
no longer living; deprived of life: dead people; dead flowers; dead animals.
3.
not endowed with life; inanimate: dead stones.
4.
resembling death; deathlike: a dead sleep; a dead faint.
5.
bereft of sensation; numb: He was half dead with fright. My leg feels dead.
EXPAND
6.
lacking sensitivity of feeling; insensitive: dead to the needs of others.
7.
incapable of being emotionally moved; unresponsive: dead to the nuances of the music.
8.
(of an emotion) no longer felt; ended; extinguished: a dead passion; dead affections.
9.
no longer current or prevalent, as in effect, significance, or practice; obsolete: a dead law; a dead controversy.
10.
no longer functioning, operating, or productive: a dead motor; a dead battery.
11.
not moving or circulating; stagnant; stale: dead water; dead air.
12.
utterly tired; exhausted: They felt dead from the six-hour trip.
13.
(of a language) no longer in use as a sole means of oral communication among a people: Latin is a dead language.
14.
without vitality, spirit, enthusiasm, or the like: a dead party.
15.
lacking the customary activity; dull; inactive: a dead business day.
16.
complete; absolute: dead silence; The plan was a dead loss.
17.
sudden or abrupt, as the complete stoppage of an action: The bus came to a dead stop.
18.
put out; extinguished: a dead cigarette.
19.
without resilience or bounce: a dead tennis ball.
20.
infertile; barren: dead land.
21.
exact; precise: the dead center of a circle.
22.
accurate; sure; unerring: a dead shot.
23.
direct; straight: a dead line.
24.
tasteless or flat, as a beverage: a dead soft drink.
25.
flat rather than glossy, bright, or brilliant: The house was painted dead white.
26.
without resonance; anechoic: dead sound; a dead wall surface of a recording studio.
27.
not fruitful; unproductive: dead capital.
28.
Law. deprived of civil rights so that one is in the state of civil death, especially deprived of the rights of property.
29.
Sports. out of play: a dead ball.
30.
(of a golf ball) lying so close to the hole as to make holing on the next stroke a virtual certainty.
31.
(of type or copy) having been used or rejected.
32.
Electricity.
a.
free from any electric connection to a source of potential difference and from electric charge.
b.
not having a potential different from that of the earth.
33.
Metallurgy. (of steel)
a.
fully killed.
b.
unresponsive to heat treatment.
34.
(of the mouth of a horse) no longer sensitive to the pressure of a bit.
35.
noting any rope in a tackle that does not pass over a pulley or is not rove through a block.
COLLAPSE
noun
36.
the period of greatest darkness, coldness, etc.: the dead of night; the dead of winter.
37.
the dead, dead persons collectively: Prayers were recited for the dead.

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Dead in the water is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
adverb
38.
absolutely; completely: dead right; dead tired.
39.
with sudden and total stoppage of motion, action, or the like: He stopped dead.
40.
directly; exactly; straight: The island lay dead ahead.
41.
dead in the water, completely inactive or inoperable; no longer in action or under consideration: Our plans to expand the business have been dead in the water for the past two months.
42.
dead to rights, in the very act of committing a crime, offense, or mistake; red-handed.

Origin:
before 950; Middle English deed, Old English dēad; cognate with Gothic dauths, German tot, Old Norse daudhr; orig. past participle See die1

dead·ness, noun
half-dead, adjective


1. Dead, deceased, extinct, lifeless refer to something that does not have or appear to have life. Dead is usually applied to something that had life but from which life is now gone: dead trees. Deceased, a more formal word than dead, is applied to human beings who no longer have life: a deceased member of the church. Extinct is applied to a race, species, or the like, no member of which is any longer alive: Mastodons are now extinct. Lifeless is applied to something that may or may not have had life but that does not have it or appear to have it now: The lifeless body of a child was taken out of the water. Minerals consist of lifeless materials. 6. unfeeling, indifferent, callous, cold. 10. inert, inoperative. 11. still, motionless. 16. utter, entire, total. 20. sterile.


1. living, alive.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To dead in the water
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dead
O.E. dead, from P.Gmc. *dauthaz, from PIE *dheu-. Meaning "insensible" is first attested early 13c. Of places, meaning "inactive, dull," it is recorded from 1580s. Used from 16c. in adj. sense of "utter, absolute, quite." Dead heat is from 1796. Dead soldier "emptied liquor bottle" is military slang
EXPAND
from 1913. Dead on is 1889, from marksmanship; dead drunk first attested 1599; dead duck is from 1844. Dead letter is from 1703, used of laws lacking force as well as uncollected mail. Phrase in the dead of the night first recorded 1540s.
"For but ich haue bote of mi bale I am ded as dorenail" (c.1350).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

dead (děd)
adj.

  1. Having lost life; no longer alive.

  2. Lacking feeling or sensitivity; unresponsive.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

dead definition


  1. mod.
    quiet and uneventful; boring. : The day was totally dead.
  2. mod.
    very tired. : I went home from the office, dead as usual.
  3. mod.
    dull; lifeless; flat. : This meal is sort of dead because I am out of onions.
  4. mod.
    no longer effective; no longer of any consequence. : That guy is dead—out of power.
  5. mod.
    [of an issue] no longer germane; no longer of any importance. : Forget it! It's a dead issue.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

dead in the water definition


  1. mod.
    stalled; immobile. (Originally nautical.) : The project is dead in the water for the time being.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

dead in the water

Unable to function or move; inoperable. For example, Without an effective leader, our plans for expansion are dead in the water. Originally referring to a crippled ship, this colloquialism was soon applied more broadly.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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