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2. Destitute of life; inanimate; as, dead matter.
3. Resembling death in appearance or quality; without show of life; deathlike; as, a dead sleep.
4. Still as death; motionless; inactive; useless; as, dead calm; a dead load or weight.
5. So constructed as not to transmit sound; soundless; as, a dead floor.
6. Unproductive; bringing no gain; unprofitable; as, dead capital; dead stock in trade.
7. Lacking spirit; dull; lusterless; cheerless; as, dead eye; dead fire; dead color, etc.
8. Monotonous or unvaried; as, a dead level or pain; a dead wall. "The ground is a dead flat." C. Reade.
9. Sure as death; unerring; fixed; complete; as, a dead shot; a dead certainty.
I had them a dead bargain. Goldsmith. 10. Bringing death; deadly. Shak. 11. Wanting in religious
spirit and vitality; as, dead faith; dead works. "Dead in trespasses." Eph. ii. 1. 12. (Paint.) (a) Flat; without
gloss; — said of painting which has been applied purposely to have this effect. (b) Not brilliant; not rich; thus,
brown is a dead color, as compared with crimson. 13. (Law) Cut off from the rights of a citizen; deprived
of the power of enjoying the rights of property; as, one banished or becoming a monk is civilly dead.
14. (Mach.) Not imparting motion or power; as, the dead spindle of a lathe, etc. See Spindle. Dead ahead (Naut.), directly ahead; - - said of a ship or any object, esp. of the wind when blowing
from that point toward which a vessel would go. — Dead angle (Mil.), an angle or space which can
not be seen or defended from behind the parapet. — Dead block, either of two wooden or iron blocks
intended to serve instead of buffers at the end of a freight car. — Dead calm (Naut.), no wind at all.
— Dead center, or Dead point (Mach.), either of two points in the orbit of a crank, at which the crank
and connecting rod lie a straight line. It corresponds to the end of a stroke; as, A and B are dead centers
of the crank mechanism in which the crank C drives, or is driven by, the lever L. — Dead color (Paint.),
a color which has no gloss upon it. — Dead coloring (Oil paint.), the layer of colors, the preparation
for what is to follow. In modern painting this is usually in monochrome. — Dead door (Shipbuilding),
a storm shutter fitted to the outside of the quarter-gallery door. — Dead flat (Naut.), the widest or
midship frame. — Dead freight (Mar. Law), a sum of money paid by a person who charters a whole
vessel but fails to make out a full cargo. The payment is made for the unoccupied capacity. Abbott.
— Dead ground (Mining), the portion of a vein in which there is no ore. — Dead hand, a hand
that can not alienate, as of a person civilly dead. "Serfs held in dead hand." Morley. See Mortmain.
— Dead head (Naut.), a rough block of wood used as an anchor buoy. — Dead heat, a heat or
course between two or more race horses, boats, etc., in which they come out exactly equal, so that
neither wins. — Dead horse, an expression applied to a debt for wages paid in advance. [Law] —
Dead language, a language which is no longer spoken or in common use by a people, and is known
only in writings, as the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. — Dead letter. (a) A letter which, after lying for
a certain fixed time uncalled for at the post office to which it was directed, is then sent to the general
post office to be opened. (b) That which has lost its force or authority; as, the law has become a dead
letter. — Dead-letter office, a department of the general post office where dead letters are examined
and disposed of. — Dead level, a term applied to a flat country. — Dead lift, a direct lift, without
assistance from mechanical advantage, as from levers, pulleys, etc.; hence, an extreme emergency. "(As
we say) at a dead lift." Robynson — Dead line (Mil.), a line drawn within or around a military prison,
to cross which involves for a prisoner the penalty of being instantly shot. — Dead load (Civil Engin.),
a constant, motionless load, as the weight of a structure, in distinction from a moving load, as a train of
cars, or a variable pressure, as of wind. — Dead march (Mus.), a piece of solemn music intended
to be played as an accompaniment to a funeral procession. — Dead nettle (Bot.), a harmless plant
with leaves like a nettle — Dead oil (Chem.), the heavy oil obtained in the distillation of coal tar, and
containing phenol, naphthalus, etc. — Dead plate (Mach.), a solid covering over a part of a fire grate,
to prevent the entrance of air through that part. — Dead pledge, a mortgage. See Mortgage. —
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