Word.ws English Dictionary

not be caught dead

not be caught dead verb: to refuse completely to do something, generally out of scorn.

Verb

not be caught dead

  1. (idiomatic) To refuse completely to do something, generally out of scorn.
    • I would not be caught dead in such a skimpy dress.

Questions about not be caught dead

What does not be caught dead mean?
Not be caught dead means to refuse completely to do something, generally out of scorn.
What part of speech is not be caught dead?
Not be caught dead is a verb.

Words near not be caught dead in the dictionary

  1. not as green as one is cabbage-looking
  2. not at all
  3. not at home to
  4. not bad
  5. not be able to hit the broad side of a barn
  6. not be caught dead
  7. not bear thinking about
  8. not before time
  9. not but
  10. not by a jugful
  11. not by any manner of means

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: not be caught dead (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.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-not be caught dead.ogg.

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