dead in the water
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During the height of the Covid-19 era, cruises seemed dead in the water: Nations were closing their doors and ships have long been seen as potential petri dishes given how quickly germs can spread onboard.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
Still, the revival of a trade deal once deemed dead in the water is good news for both the EU and India.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 28, 2026
“Now those civil cases are dead in the water, because you have an arsonist,” said Neama Rahmani, president of the L.A.-based law firm West Coast Trial Lawyers, which is handling Eaton fire cases against Edison.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
But days out from Winston's arrival, as war raged in the seas around him, the puggle was found dead in the water of his specially made "platypusary".
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2025
All ten serpents turned belly-up and floated dead in the water.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
