What Does This Mean?
A hyperlink that no longer reaches its intended page because the page was moved, deleted or the server is gone. In everyday web talk it is also called a broken link, and it is the single-link version of the wider problem called link rot.
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE
""The forum post answered my exact question, but the one download link in it is a dead link.""
LORE & ORIGIN
Wikipedia's link rot article says a link that no longer reaches its target may be called broken or dead. It cites studies such as a 2023 Pew Research analysis in which 54% of English Wikipedia articles had a dead link in their references. The term is a plain technical description with no documented slang coinage or dated first use, so this is a weak entry that mainly points to link rot.
MENTIONS OVER TIME
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