Phrase guide

dead as Hector

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Unquestionably dead.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, not-comparable

Qualifier: simile

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dead as a doornail, asleep, at rest, blessed, cadaverous, clay-cold, deceased, resting, decomposed, defunct, departed, expired, extinct, fey, gone, good, inanimate, inert, kaput, killed, late, lifeless, living impaired, low, no longer with us, no more, perished, reposing, six feet deep, six feet under, stiff, unalive, unalived, wasted, whilom, with God

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Referencing the story of Hector, a Trojan hero in Greek mythology and a character in Homer's Iliad, who leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, and is ultimately killed in single combat by Achilles, who later drags his dead body around the city of Troy behind his chariot.