dead man walking
The phrase "dead man walking" originated from the context of capital punishment but has since evolved into a widely used idiom with various connotations.
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Definition
C1Capital Punishment
(formal, historical)A condemned prisoner walking to the place of execution.
Example
- As the guard led him down the corridor, he was a dead man walking.
B2General
(idiomatic)A person in a hopeless or doomed situation, often facing inevitable failure or death.
Example
- After the scandal, he was a dead man walking in the company.
C2Meteorology
(slang, technical)A multi-vortex tornado that appears to resemble a human figure.
Example
- The storm chasers identified a 'dead man walking' formation in the distance.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "dead man walking":
dead mendead meatliving deaddead or alivedead in the waterleave for deadfrom the deadman downdead duckdead hand