death Hear it!

death definition

death (det̸h)

noun

  1. the act or fact of dying; permanent ending of all life in a person, animal, or plant
  2. the personification of death, usually pictured as a skeleton in a black robe, holding a scythe
  3. the state of being dead
  4. any ending resembling dying; total destruction the death of our hopes
  5. any condition or experience thought of as like dying or being dead
  6. the cause of death smoking will be the death of him
  7. murder or bloodshed
  8. Obsolete pestilence the Black Death

Etymology: ME deth < OE dēath, akin to OS dōth, OHG tōd, ON dauthi: see dead

Related Forms:

death Idioms

at death's door

nearly dead

be death on

to deal with in a devastating manner

do to death

  1. Archaic to kill
  2. to use, perform, etc. so often that it becomes tiresome; overdo

in at the death

  1. present at the killing of the quarry by the hounds
  2. present at the end or culmination

put to death

to kill or cause to be killed; execute

to death

to the extreme; very much he worries me to death

to the death

  1. to the very end (of a struggle, quarrel, etc.)
  2. to the end of life; always

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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