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dead in the water

dead in the wa·ter
D d

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [ded in stressed th ee waw-ter, wot-er]
    • /dɛd ɪn stressed ði ˈwɔ tər, ˈwɒt ər/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [ded in stressed th ee waw-ter, wot-er]
    • /dɛd ɪn stressed ði ˈwɔ tər, ˈwɒt ər/

Definitions of dead in the water words

  • phrase dead in the water If you say that someone or something is dead in the water, you are emphasizing that they have failed, and that there is little hope of them being successful in the future. 3
  • noun dead in the water unsuccessful, and with little hope of future success 3
  • noun dead in the water at a standstill from the loss of power, momentum, vigor, etc. 3
  • noun dead in the water destined for certain failure or ruin; doomed 3
  • adjective dead in the water no longer living; deprived of life: dead people; dead flowers; dead animals. 1
  • adjective dead in the water brain-dead. 1
See all 47 definitions of dead in the water

Information block about the term

Origin of dead in the water

First appearance:

before 950
One of the 4% oldest English words
before 950; Middle English deed, Old English dēad; cognate with Gothic dauths, German tot, Old Norse daudhr; orig. past participle See die1

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Dead in the water

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Dead in the water

dead in the water popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 100% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

dead in the water usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

See also

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