How to Pronounce "deer in the headlights"
expression
DEER in thuh HED-laits
DEE-uh in thuh HED-laits
Definition
Looking shocked, scared, or frozen when surprised or under pressure, like how a deer freezes when it sees headlights.
IPA Transcription
American English
ˈdɪɹ/ /ˈɪn/, /ɪn/ /ˈðə/, /ðə/, /ði/ /ˈhɛdˌɫaɪts
British English
dˈiə/ /ˈɪn/ /ðə, ði/ /hˈɛdlaɪts
Simplified Pronunciation
US
DEER in thuh HED-laits
UK
DEE-uh in thuh HED-laits
Listen in Context
When the teacher called on him, he looked like a deer in the headlights.
She stood there like a deer in the headlights, not knowing what to say.
When he forgot his lines, he was a deer in the headlights on stage.
I asked him a simple question and he just stood there, a total deer in the headlights.