stop dead
To stop suddenly.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He stopped dead when he heard a loud noise.”
“She was walking to the store, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her old friend.”
“The runner stopped dead as the finish line appeared, suddenly realizing he had taken the wrong path during the race.”
- 01
a short drop and a sudden stop
A fall to one's death by hanging.
- 02
beat a dead horse
To persist or continue far beyond any purpose, interest or reason.
- 03
brown bread
[Cockney slang]dead
- 04
come back from the dead
To experience a resurgence after one's productive years are assumed to have ended.
- 05
couldn't stop a pig in a passage
To be bow-legged.
- 06
dead 'n' buried
Contraction of dead and buried.
- 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.
- 08
dead and buried
Of an issue, moot, passed, irrelevant, forgotten.
Last updated August 10, 2026