dead and buried

Idioms

Also, dead and gone. Long forgotten, no longer in use, as in That argument is dead and buried, or No point in worrying about regulations that are long dead and gone. This figurative use of “having died” is usually applied to some issue. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

His parents have been dead and buried for quite a while.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025

It was brutally exposed by an Argentina side who should have been dead and buried long before their epic comeback.

From BBC • Nov. 16, 2025

“Hitchcock & Herrmann” is also a portrait of a working friendship that was fruitful and fond while it lasted and dead and buried when it was over.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

"I think the policy is dead and buried," he said.

From Reuters • Nov. 15, 2023

I think of my own father, dead and buried.

From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023