DOA
Americanabbreviation
Usage
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 ]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Nothing is careless about “The Pitt”—when a biker arrives, DOA, a few episodes later, you know people are thinking.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026
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 • Feb. 13, 2024
Buzz grows around a proposed $40 million tram-accessible hotel atop the Pacific Crest — a lofty idea rendered DOA when Congress establishes the William O. Douglas Wilderness.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 1, 2023
If Elon Musk’s tweets are pure lizard-brain id, Bezos’ tweets are all superego — my guy probably workshops them, which is why they’re DOA, emotionally.
From The Verge • May 16, 2022
We wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
