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Glite Dictionary
to go dead

to go dead

27 3.9
To stop working or become suddenly silent
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : dejar de funcionar
  • He was in the middle of his presentation when the projector suddenly went dead.
  • the phone went dead
  • the line went dead
  • the battery went dead

My knee hits the hits the concrete, my leg goes dead right.

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Examples

  • The line went dead, but not before Arkady had recognized Max Albov's voice, too.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The line went dead.

    Wunderland (2018)

  • The line just went dead.

    Phantoms (1998)

  • A little while later, the TV and everything just went dead.

    Alone in the Dark (1982)

  • - Maybe her cell phone's battery went dead.

    Midnight (2020)

  • What do you mean the mic just went dead?

    Killing Salazar (2017)

  • "Hello," I say to the woman's voice on the other end, but then the line goes dead.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Tori was screaming, then the line went dead.

    Brightburn (2019)

  • I tried to call for help, but my phone went dead before anyone answered.

  • When the storm hit, the power went dead, leaving us in complete darkness.

Synonyms

to die
vsto go dead
498 4.6

To stop working, often suddenly

is a sudden stop of activity that may be temporary
to go down
vsto go dead
187 3.4

To stop working for a short time

is a sudden stop of functioning rather than usually temporary outage
to go off
vsto go dead
  • UK
42 2.5

Stop working or lose power, for example lights

is a sudden stop of activity rather than general disconnection
to go bad
vsto go dead
  • US
33 3.5

Stop working and need repair

is a sudden stop of function rather than gradual malfunction
to come to a halt
vsto go dead
  • Informal
13 3.4

Stop moving or working completely

is a sudden stop of functioning rather than stopping movement only
to stop dead
vsto go dead
  • Informal
12 3.9

To suddenly become completely still because you are surprised

is a sudden cessation of functioning rather than only motion
to bite the dust
vsto go dead
  • Informal
11 6.8

To stop working or fail completely

is a sudden stoppage of activity not necessarily a total end
to give up the ghost
vsto go dead
  • Informal
4 8.1

To die or stop working after a long time of problems

is a sudden stop rather than an end after long decline
to yield up the ghost
vsto go dead
  • Archaic
9.8

To stop working or to die after a long time of getting worse

is a sudden stoppage instead of a gradual end after decline

Antonyms

to activate
715 3.6

To make a machine, system, or account start working

to function
441 2.6

To work in a particular role or job

How Functional

flicker
41 3.9
malfunction
96 4.5
to go down
187 3.4
to go dead
27 3.9

Surface Forms

go dead infinitive
going dead present participle
goes dead third person singular
went dead past
gone dead past participle

Morphology

go + dead

The meaning 'to stop functioning' is directly derivable from combining 'go' (become/go into a state) with 'dead' (not functioning or alive). The 'go + adjective' change-of-state construction is a common, compositionally transparent pattern in English (and in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Go dead gives a simple picture: the verb go here means 'become' and dead means without power, like a flashlight whose battery dies or a room that suddenly falls silent. That's why go dead means 'to stop functioning' or 'become silent'.