dead set
Americanadjective
noun
-
a serious or determined attempt; firm effort.
He made a dead set at winning the championship.
-
Hunting. the stiff posture assumed by a hunting dog in indicating the presence and location of game.
adverb
noun
adjective
interjection
Etymology
Origin of dead set
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50
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.
Knueppel says he learned it by a being kid trying to escape an entire court of grown men who were dead set on stopping him.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
With Poland dead set against it, that means either France or Italy, both home to rowdy agricultural lobbies, would have to sign on.
From Barron's • Dec. 30, 2025
"The very fact they were dead set on employing these independent advocates themselves says something about the culture - its control, and just not even beginning to understand the nature of independence."
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2025
At one point, Robbins was so dead set on making the “TMNT” film that he remembers thinking he’d find another partner to make the movie with if Paramount passed.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2023
“She must be,” he said, “from the way she is carrying on. I hear she is making a dead set at Pellinore’s son Lamorak now, although she is a grandmother.”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
