ENGLISH
REFERENCE

dead last

idiom
Meaning

Finishing in last place in a competition or ranking, often by a considerable margin to the next to last place finisher or after an exceptionally poor showing or season.


Examples
SIMPLE

He finished the race in dead last.

CONTEXTUAL

After his car broke down during the final lap, he ended up in dead last.

COMPLEX

Despite his rigorous training schedule, the athlete struggled with his form and ultimately finished the championship in dead last.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    beat a dead horse

    To persist or continue far beyond any purpose, interest or reason.

  2. 02

    breathe one's last

    To die.

  3. 03

    brown bread

    [Cockney slang]dead

  4. 04

    cobbler, keep to your last

    One should not criticise matters outside one's field of expertise; one should mind one's business.

  5. 05

    come back from the dead

    To experience a resurgence after one's productive years are assumed to have ended.

  6. 06

    dead 'n' buried

    Contraction of dead and buried.

  7. 07

    dead air

    An unintended interruption in a broadcast during which nothing is transmitted: a silent period on radio or a silent period with no picture on television.

  8. 08

    dead and buried

    Of an issue, moot, passed, irrelevant, forgotten.

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