DOA

or D.O.A.

1. dead on arrival.

DOA

abbreviation for

1. dead on arrival

Example Sentences

If he corrals his slim majority and the bill does pass, it’s DOA in the Senate.

From Los Angeles Times

“FDA has been disregarding the law by permitting these long-established carcinogens to be added to food,” Maria Doa, senior director for chemicals policy at Environmental Defense Fund, said in a statement to Quality Assurance.

From Salon

The three other gals — Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor and Isabela Merced — well, they were clearly cast for a potential future standalone film, which has to be DOA at this point.

From Los Angeles Times

Doa, the former EPA scientist who worked at the agency for three decades, said she had never known the EPA to misidentify a source of pollution in a consent order.

From Salon

"I had never seen a 1-in-4 risk before this, let alone a 1.3-in-1," said Doa.

From Salon

About This Word

What does DOA mean?

DOA stands for dead on arrival. Outside of law enforcement and hospitals, DOA is used figuratively for a hopeless situation or something doomed from the start.

How is DOA pronounced?

[ dee-oh-ey ]

Where does DOA come from?

DOA, for dead on arrival, is found around 1920–30 to describe a victim who is discovered already dead upon the arrival of first responders, such as police officers, or EMTs and hospital workers. Brought in dead (BID) is a similar expression.

DOA had become common enough outside the law enforcement and medical communities to title a classic 1949 film noir about a man who’s been poisoned.

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United Artists Corporation

Since then, DOA has seen other uses in popular culture, from band names to professional wrestling promotions to a brand of fishing lures. In 1970, the rock band Bloodrock released “D.O.A.” about a plane crash victim.

How is DOA used in real life?

DOA is widely used by police officers and medical personnel to characterize the status of a victim.

U/D Queens: 19-54 77 St, Active Crime scene in regards to 5 people stabbed, 2 victims was now pronounced DOA, Suspect in custody. https://t.co/3Q0ktp8Hcg

— NYC Scanner (@NYScanner) September 21, 2018

The figurative DOA is used, less morbidly and for dramatic effect, to describe hopeless situations or things that just never had a chance in the first place. They were metaphorically dead before they even started. It’s often used in politics for bills or proposals that never had a chance of succeeding.

my love life’s D.O.A.

— Abbie (@AbbieCartagena) September 18, 2018

 

More examples of DOA:

“With Philly’s construction tax ‘D.O.A.,’ Kenney proposes alternative”

—Holly Otterbein and Chris Brennan, Philadelphia Inquirer (headline), September 2018