dead letter
The term "dead letter" is used both in postal services and legal contexts to describe items or measures that have lost their function or effectiveness.
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Definition
B2Postal Services
(technical)Mail that cannot be delivered or returned due to issues like an incorrect address.
Example
- The letter was marked as a dead letter because the recipient had moved without leaving a forwarding address.
C1Legal
(formal)A law or regulation that is no longer enforced but has not been officially repealed.
Example
- Despite still being on the books, the law has become a dead letter and is no longer followed.
B2General
(informal)An idea or plan that is no longer relevant or active.
Example
- The proposal has turned into a dead letter after the new management took over.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "dead letter":
letter missivenight letterlove letterletter bombdead codedead moneyletter writerdead hand