deadman
Building Trades. a log, concrete block, etc., buried in the ground as an anchor.
a crutchlike prop temporarily supporting a pole or mast being erected.
Nautical.
an object fixed on shore to hold a mooring line temporarily.
a rope for hauling the boom of a derrick inboard after discharge of a load of cargo.
Also dead-man's. Machinery, Automotive. of or relating to a control or switch on a powered machine or vehicle that disengages a blade or clutch, applies the brake, shuts off the engine, etc., when the driver or operator ceases to press a pedal, squeeze a throttle, etc.: deadman throttle; dead-man's control.
Origin of deadman
1Words Nearby deadman
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use deadman in a sentence
Yes, but the dark Justice League—with Swamp Thing, Etrigan, Constantine, deadman, and others.
Guillermo Del Toro on ‘Cabinet of Curiosities,’ Collaborating with Kanye West, and More | Marlow Stern | November 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIt came from the vast concave of deadman's Bay, rising and falling against the pebble dyke.
The Well-Beloved | Thomas HardyAt the very commencement of the gold-rush a hole had been sunk in deadman's Flat, and soon afterwards deserted.
Grif | B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) FarjeonThe miners in the locality would cluster round the hole, which they prophesied would be the richest on deadman's Flat.
Grif | B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) FarjeonThe miners on deadman's Flat were jubilant, not to say uproarious.
Grif | B. L. (Benjamin Leopold) Farjeon
And deadman Draw, in between, bears due west and heap down, short and sweet.
Stepsons of Light | Eugene Manlove Rhodes
British Dictionary definitions for deadman
/ (ˈdɛdˌmæn) /
civil engineering a heavy plate, wall, or block buried in the ground that acts as an anchor for a retaining wall, sheet pile, etc, by a tie connecting the two
mountaineering a metal plate with a wire loop attached for thrusting into firm snow to serve as a belay point, a smaller version being known as a deadboy
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with deadman
see dead soldier.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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