dead in water
Completely without momentum
Dead in the water describes something unable to move forward or make progress.
The phrase comes from sailing—a ship without wind sits motionless, vulnerable.
Now it applies to any stalled project, plan, or effort: The bill is dead in the water without bipartisan support.
After the scandal broke, his campaign was dead in the water.
- stalledStopped unexpectedly
- out of gasLacking fuel to continue
- strandedLeft without means to leave
- stuckUnable to move
- sunkForced beneath water
lifeless · motionless · stagnant · adrift · lost at sea · marooned · left high and dry · flotsam · drowning · shipwrecked · beached · hopeless · paralyzed · finished · kaput · doomed · derailed · grounded
- doing nothingdo nothing, stand still, sit tight, stay put, keep still
- nautical phrasesahoy, aye aye, smooth sailing, yo ho ho, all hands
- Idle Phrasesidle hands, twiddling thumbs, killing time, at rest, doing nothing
dead in waterfull steam ahead
Complete commitment to progress
moving forward · on track · making headway · picking up steam · in full swing
dead in watergoing strong
Continuing vigorously, undiminished
alive and kicking · thriving · flourishing · going places · on the rise
dead, water, died, dies, death, deathly, deadly, deadness, deaden