death
Americannoun
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deaths
plural
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the act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism.
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an instance of this.
a death in the family; letters published after his death.
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the state of being dead.
to lie still in death.
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It will mean the death of our hopes.
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manner of dying.
a hero's death.
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(usually initial capital letter) the agent of death personified, usually represented as a man or a skeleton carrying a scythe.
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Also called spiritual death. loss or absence of spiritual life.
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Christian Science. the false belief that life comes to an end.
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bloodshed or murder.
Hitler was responsible for the death of millions.
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a cause or occasion of death.
You'll be the death of me yet!
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Archaic. pestilence; plague.
idioms
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at death's door, in serious danger of death; gravely ill.
Two survivors of the crash are still at death's door.
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catch one’s death (of cold), to become ill with a common cold after exposure to bad weather, especially when wearing clothing that fails to keep one warm or dry.
The kids will catch their death waiting at the bus stop in this rain.
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to death, to an extreme degree; thoroughly.
sick to death of the heat.
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be death on,
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to be excessively strict about.
College professors are death on late work, so don't even ask for a deadline extension.
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to be snobbish about or toward.
He's just death on anyone who doesn't appreciate opera.
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to be able to cope with easily and successfully.
The third baseman is death on pop flies.
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in at the death,
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Fox Hunting. present at the kill.
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present at the climax or conclusion of a situation.
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do to death,
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to kill, especially to murder.
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to repeat too often, to the point of becoming monotonous and boring.
That theme has been done to death.
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noun
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the permanent end of all functions of life in an organism or some of its cellular components
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an instance of this
his death ended an era
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a murder or killing
he had five deaths on his conscience
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termination or destruction
the death of colonialism
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a state of affairs or an experience considered as terrible as death
your constant nagging will be the death of me
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a cause or source of death
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(usually capital) a personification of death, usually a skeleton or an old man holding a scythe
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until dead
bleed to death
a fight to the death
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excessively
bored to death
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likely to die soon
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informal to contract a severe cold
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to kill
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to overuse (a joke, etc) so that it no longer has any effect
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present when an animal that is being hunted is caught and killed
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present at the finish or climax
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informal very ill
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as if afraid for one's life
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to kill deliberately or execute
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The end of life of an organism or cell. In humans and animals, death is manifested by the permanent cessation of vital organic functions, including the absence of heartbeat, spontaneous breathing, and brain activity. Cells die as a result of external injury or by an orderly, programmed series of self-destructive events known as apoptosis. The most common causes of death for humans in well-developed countries are cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, certain chronic diseases such as diabetes and emphysema, lung infections, and accidents.
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See also brain death
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of death
First recorded before 900; Middle English deeth, Old English dēath; cognate with German Tod, Gothic dauthus; akin to Old Norse deyja “to die”; see die 1, -th 1
Explanation
Death is the end of life. Whether it’s only an instant or it takes years, death is always permanent, no matter what vampire movies try to tell you. Death has many meanings and uses, but it always means the end of something. It can be a single moment like the death of a fish eaten by an alligator, a slow process like the death of cassette tapes as compact discs became popular, or an ongoing state like the death of an ancient language. Death isn’t always bad: the death of a human is depressing, but the death of a vegetable is dinner.
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.
See Examples For:
A person can leave an unlimited amount to their spouse after their death.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
Both Cruise and Pitt have a death grip on their A-List prestige, hyper-aware of how much the world perceives and enjoys their work.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
It has been a century since Debs’s death in 1926.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Both women, and another of Mr Boyle's sisters, Leanne Boyle, described the impact his death has had on the "very close" family, describing him as "popular" and "kind".
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
By late August of 1851, Calvin grew so gravely ill that he was near death.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Their deaths sparked an outpouring of grief and condemnation in Australia and the United States.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
And there is no historical context, no millions of deaths, pressuring them to race forward.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Families alleged inadequate care at the facility contributed to their relatives’ deaths.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
The COVID-19 pandemic may not have caused 25 million deaths in Europe, as the Black Death did, but it did cause 7 million deaths worldwide.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
For escaping from a jungle where all others marched to their deaths.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
