Meanings
plural dead certs
- informalA practically guaranteed outcome.
It's a dead cert that United will beat City in the cup.
2 more examples
“Jockeys are bad tipsters. But that one was a cert, a dead cert.” A dead cert. The casual, everyday racing expression jabbed in my mind like a needle.
1962, Dick Francis, chapter 4, in Dead Cert, published 2004, page 46"Tees Valley is our first target. It's not a dead cert yet, but we are very hopeful.
2020 May 20, Paul Clifton, “A hydrogen solution to decarbonisation?”, in Rail, page 54Synonyms: sure thing
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA practically guaranteed outcome.
Origin
Clipped compound of dead certainty.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
dead cert. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20cert
“dead cert.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20cert. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dead cert,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20cert.
Source: dead cert on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.