Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dead ringer

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.06 in modern English

Syllables: dead- ringer
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Someone or something that very closely resembles another; someone or something easily mistaken for another.

Example Sentences

"He is a dead ringer for his grandfather at that age."
"Hey, er, anybody ever tell you you're a dead ringer for…"
"In 1987, in “The Rules of Attraction,” he wrote about casual sex and obsessive drug use among bored students of a dead ringer for Bennington College, which Mr. Ellis attended."
"On our next date, she told me I could come back home if I wanted to. There was one condition, though: couples counseling."
"Twentysomething Alice works in publishing, so is instantly in awe of this old man offering her chocolate with a trembling hand. He is world-famous writer Ezra Blazer, a dead ringer for Philip Roth, with whom Halliday had a relationship in her 20s."

Etymology

See ringer (“substitute”) and ring the changes

Inflected Forms

dead ringers (plural) dead-ringer (alternative) deadringer (alternative)

Synonyms

spitting image double doppelganger lookalike ringer clone

Questions

What does dead ringer mean?: Someone or something that very closely resembles another; someone or something easily mistaken for another.
Where does dead ringer come from?: See ringer (“substitute”) and ring the changes

How to pronounce dead ringer

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dead ringer”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “dead ringer” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.