dead in the water
Going absolutely nowhere
Dead in the water describes something unable to move forward or make progress.
The phrase comes from sailing—a ship without wind sits motionless, dead in the water.
Now it applies to any stalled project, plan, or negotiation: Without funding, the proposal is dead in the water.
It implies not just delay but complete inability to proceed.
Left motionless by windlessness
- adriftFloating without control
- capsizedFlipped upside down, nautically
- listingRecorded item in catalog
- flounderingStruggling clumsily, failing
swamped · waterlogged · rudderless · dismasted · drifting · shipwrecked · foundering · disabled
Came to rest
- stuckUnable to move
- paralyzedUnable to move voluntarily
- frozenSolidified by extreme cold
- gridlockedImmobilized by congestion
standstill · impasse · deadlocked · blocked · obstructed · bottlenecked · logjammed · snagged
becalmed
Left motionless by windlessness
- adriftFloating without control
- capsizedFlipped upside down, nautically
- listingRecorded item in catalog
floundering · swamped · waterlogged · rudderless · dismasted · drifting · shipwrecked · foundering · disabled · stranded
halted
Came to rest
gridlocked · standstill · impasse · deadlocked · blocked · obstructed · bottlenecked · logjammed · snagged · derailed
doomed
Destined for destruction
torpedoed · scuttled · tanked · collapsed · defunct · terminated · killed · axed · scrapped · abandoned
- Nautical Idiomsbatten down the hatches, all hands on deck, smooth sailing, three sheets to the wind, in the same boat
- sea idiomsall at sea, smooth sailing, sink or swim, miss the boat, rock the boat
- travel idiomshit the road, in the same boat, miss the boat, end of the road, crossroads
- combat idiomsstab in the back, dodge a bullet, in the crosshairs, fire away, take a shot
- financial ruinbankrupt, bankruptcy, bust, busted, broke
- fishing idiomshook line and sinker, the one that got away, fishing for compliments, fish or cut bait, bigger fish to fry
dead in the waterfull steam ahead
Complete commitment to progress
in full swing · moving forward · up and running · making headway · picking up steam
dead in the wateralive and kicking
Healthy and active
thriving · flourishing · going places · going concern · viable
dead, water, death, deadly, deaden, deadness, deadened, watery, waters