A mental state of high arousal caused by anxiety fear, panic, surpriseand/or confusion, or substance abuse. The behavioral signs are like a deer subjected to a car's headlights, such as widely opened eyes and a lack of motor reactions.

Etymology:

  • From the image of a deer caught in a car's headlights – wide-open eyes, lack of motor reactions, etc.
30 Views

Submitted on September 01, 2009

Translation

Find a translation for the deer in the headlights phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to deer in the headlights

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this deer in the headlights phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this deer in the headlights definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "deer in the headlights." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/deer-in-the-headlights_3220>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    All's fair in love and ____________.
    A combat
    B peace
    C might
    D war