dead stick

noun

An unpowered propeller.

“He landed dead stick.”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noundead stick (plural dead sticks)

plural dead sticks · alternative deadstick · alternative dead-stick

  1. An unpowered propeller.

    I had to land with a dead stick.

  2. attributiveoftenFailed aircraft power.

    The 767 made a miraculous dead stick landing at an abandoned Canadian airfield.

adverbdead stick (not comparable)

alternative deadstick · alternative dead-stick

  1. not comparableWithout aircraft-engine power.

    He landed dead stick.

verbdead stick (third-person singular simple present dead sticks, present participle dead sticking, simple past and past participle dead sticked)

present singular third person dead sticks · participle present dead sticking · participle past dead sticked · past dead sticked · alternative deadstick · alternative dead-stick

  1. To fly, especially to land, an aircraft without power.

Origin

From stick (“wooden two-bladed propeller”), possibly confounded with stick-like aircraft-engine throttles.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

dead stick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20stick

MLA

“dead stick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20stick. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dead stick,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20stick.

Source: dead stick on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.