dead space

noun

: the portion of the respiratory system which is external to the bronchioles and through which air must pass to reach the bronchioles and alveoli

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

While iPhone's display dead space is due to it housing a bunch of FaceID sensors, there's no new hardware here (that will take a bit longer to copy), just a normal front-facing camera that turns into a giant pill. —Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 9 Mar. 2023

They were drawn afresh as the relevant molecules drifted back into the dead space and interacted with each other once again. —Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 7 Sep. 2010

Many modern xylems have intricate cross sections that look like gappy rings, crosses, diamonds or hearts, with dead space called pith separating bundles of xylem tissue. —Elise Cutts, Scientific American, 18 Jan. 2023

Assembly required Maximize space with a bookshelf built for taking advantage of a room’s dead space. —Kristina Mcguirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2022

The curved back edge cradles hydration reservoirs, so there’s no dead space in your bag. —Outside Online, 27 Aug. 2021

Eliminate dead space toward the bottom of an attic closet by adding narrow shelves for shoes or a multi-level shoe rack. —Marisa Donnelly, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Sep. 2022

Folia Collective often chooses to tape plants down to the box to keep them in one spot, filling the dead space in the rest of the box to prevent any shifting. —Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2022

Learn to squeeze all the dead space out of your days. —Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes, 19 July 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

circa 1923, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

dead space

noun

1

: space in the respiratory system in which air does not undergo significant gaseous exchange see anatomical dead space, physiological dead space

2

: a space (as that in the chest following excision of a lung) left in the body as the result of a surgical procedure