Word.ws English Dictionary

deader than a doornail

deader than a doornail is the alternative form of dead as a doornail.

Meaning of dead as a doornail

Adjective

dead as a doornail

  1. (simile) Unquestionably dead. Used for both inanimate objects and once living beings.
    • I picked up the phone, but the line was dead as a doornail.

Questions about deader than a doornail

What is deader than a doornail the alternative form of?
Deader than a doornail is the alternative form of dead as a doornail.

Words near deader than a doornail in the dictionary

  1. deadenylylated
  2. deadenylylates
  3. deadenylylating
  4. deadenylylation
  5. deader
  6. deader than a doornail
  7. deader than disco
  8. deaders
  9. deadest
  10. deadeye
  11. Deadeye Dick

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: deader than a doornail (page history and authors); dead as a doornail (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-deader than a doornail.wav.

Cite this entry: “deader than a doornail.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/deader_than_a_doornail. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.