deadman
deadman noun: a long object, often a timber or log, buried to serve as an anchor for a wall or for stays.
Noun
deadman (plural deadmen)
- A long object, often a timber or log, buried to serve as an anchor for a wall or for stays.
- The building code requires deadmen for retaining walls.
- A cutout device that operates in the event that an operator releases the control handles, leaves the operator's seat, or otherwise seems to be no longer present and alert.
- a deadman device
- [...] a Brown-Boveri deadman's control; [...].1962 April, “Beyond the Channel: Western Germany: The Henschel 4,000 h.p. V320 diesel”, in Modern Railways, page 274
- Synonyms:
- dead man's switch
Proper noun capitalized: Deadman
Deadman (plural Deadmans)
- A surname.
Synonyms of deadman
Forms of deadman
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | deadmen |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Deadmans |
Origin of deadman
From dead + man. In the sense referring to a safety switch, the notion of an operator who is dead is the figurative archetype representing any incapacitation, absence, or inattention. See also Dead Hand in that regard.
Probably from deadman.
Questions about deadman
- What does deadman mean?
- Deadman means a long object, often a timber or log, buried to serve as an anchor for a wall or for stays.
- What part of speech is deadman?
- Deadman can be a noun or a proper noun.
- What is the plural of deadman?
- The plural of deadman is deadmen.
Words near deadman in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: deadman (page history and authors); Deadman (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:
Cite this entry: “deadman.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/deadman. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.