A “dead letter” is a letter or package that cannot be delivered because the address is incorrect or the recipient is deceased. It can also refer to a law or policy that is no longer enforced or effective.
It is an idiom that indicates something that is no longer in use or cannot be used. In the context of a letter, it cannot be delivered because the address is wrong or the person it was meant for is dead.
Dead Letter Meaning
A law or an agreement that still exists but that is ignored
Dead Letter Sentence Examples
- The letter was marked as a dead letter because the address was incorrect.
- His attempts to revive the dead letter of a policy were in vain.
- The letter had been sitting in the post office for so long it had become a dead letter.
- The law was a dead letter, no one enforced it anymore.
- The proposal was a dead letter, it was never implemented.
- The idea was a dead letter, it never took off.
- The plan was a dead letter, it was never put into action.
- He knew that his message was a dead letter. It would never reach its intended recipient.
- The policy was a dead letter, it had been superseded by newer legislation.
- The regulation was a dead letter, it was no longer enforced.