English · Slang Attested

dead on arrival

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Of a new item: received broken.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Mặt hàng mới: bị hỏng khi nhận

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Being a failure from the start, a nonstarter.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Thất bại từ đầu, không thành công

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

What does “dead on arrival” mean?

Of a new item: received broken.

Is “dead on arrival” formal or informal?

dead on arrival is generally slang.