death

noun — 6 senses

death

noun

/ˈdɛθ/ · [ˈdɛθ]

Etymology

From Middle English deth, deeth, from Old English dēaþ, from Proto-West Germanic *dauþu, from Proto-Germanic *dauþuz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰówtus. More at die. Cognates Cognate with Scots daeth, daith, death, deeth, deith (“death”), North Frisian Duar, duas, düüs (“death”), Saterland Frisian Dood (“death”), West Frisian dea (“death”), Dutch dood (“death”), German Tod, Todt (“death”), Limburgish doead (“death”), Luxembourgish Doud (“death”), Yiddish טויט (toyt, “death”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål død (“death”), Faroese deyði (“death”), Icelandic dauði (“death”), Norwegian Nynorsk daude, død (“death”), Swedish död (“death”), Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌿𐌸𐌿𐍃 (dauþus, “death”).

1

The cessation of life and all associated processes; the end of an organism's existence as an entity independent from its environment and its return to an inert, nonliving state.

  • My grandfather died a violent death, which saddened the whole family.
  • But foraſmuch as this [the faintneſs of the Heart] is a very bad and heavy diſtemper, and a fore-runner of death, therefore 'tis called a timely death.1680, T. K., The Kitchin-Phyſician; Or, a Guide for Good-Housewives in Maintaining Their Families in Health. […] , To cure the faintneſs of the Heart, page 71:
3 more examples
  • Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly.1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC:
  • "‘Death,’" quoted Warwick, with whose mood the undertaker's remarks were in tune, "‘is the penalty that all must pay for the crime of living.’"1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars:
  • Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, […]2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist:
2

Execution (in the judicial sense).

  • The serial killer was sentenced to death.
  • Thirty years after Gao Chengyong embarked on a succession of 11 rape-murders of women in northwest China, a court sentenced him to death on Friday, following an investigation that involved sifting through 230,000 fingerprints.2018 March 30, Chris Buckley, “‘Vicious’ Killer of 11 Women Gets Death Penalty in China”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 31 Mar 2018, Asia Pacific:
3

Capitalized, Often The personification of death as a (usually male) hooded figure with a scythe; the Grim Reaper.

  • When death walked in, a chill spread through the room.
  • And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, & his name that sat on him was Death"1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 6:8:
2 more examples
  • [T]o thoſe, Jonathan, who know what death is, and what havock and deſtruction he can make, before a man can well wheel about—'tis like a whole age.1762, [Laurence Sterne], chapter IX, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume V, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […], →OCLC, page 51:
  • O boy! running man is out of death ... Anyway, they say she comes on a pale horse1974, Anthony Banks, Michael Rutherford, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett, “Anyway”, in The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, performed by Genesis:
4

The collapse or end of something.

Preceded by the

  • England scored a goal at the death to even the score at one all.
  • Buyer (negotiating): You were at two-fifty on that one. Go on, then, what's the death on that? Seller: Two hundred pounds is the absolute death. Buyer: Sold. Thank you.
1 more example
  • He may even find himself being blamed if the project dies a quick and horrible death at the box office or is unceremoniously axed by the network.1983, Robert R. Faulkner, Music on Demand, page 90:
5

Especially, Figuratively, Followed by of-phrase A cause of great stress, exhaustion, embarrassment, or another negative condition (for someone).

Preceded by the

  • This bake sale is going to be the death of me!
6

Figuratively Spiritual lifelessness.

Synonyms
26 termsdeath, tomb, celestial transfer, decease, decomposition, defunction, dematerialization, demise, dirt nap, doom, exit, expiration, fatality, liquidation, mortality, passing, quietus, repose, sleep of the just, sunset, the big sleep, crash, downfall, fall, (the) bane, (the) end
Antonyms
(antonym(s) of“beginning of life”): birth, (antonym(s) of“maintenance of existence”): life, advent, beginning, birth, genesis, rise, start
Derived terms
344 termsaccidental death, anally inflicted death sentence, angel of death, antideath, apparent death, article of death, at death's door, Black Death, black screen of death, blob of death, blue screen of death, brain death, catch one's death, cause of death, cell death, certain as death and taxes, certain as death or taxes, cheat death, civil death, click of death, clinical death, cold as death, common death adder, cone of death, corporate death penalty, cot death, court death, crib death, crude death rate, culture of death, cyberdeath, dance of death, Darth, Darth Vader, date of death, dead, deadly, deadly diamond of death, death acids, death adder, death against, death and taxes, death angel, death barrier, death-bearing, deathbed, death-bed, death bed, death bed conversion, death-bed conversion, death bell, death benefit, deathbird, deathblow, death blow, deathbook, death book, deathbound, deathbox, death by a thousand cuts, death by a thousand papercuts, death by a thousand paper cuts, death by chocolate, death by coconut, death by cop, death by misadventure, death by PowerPoint, death by snu snu, death camas, death camp, death candle, death cap, death card, deathcare, death cell, death certificate, death chair, death chamber, death clerk, death clock, death-come-quickly, deathcore, death cross, death cult, death cultist, death cup, death-damp, death date, deathdate, deathday, death-dealing, death-defying, death disc, death diving, death-doom, death door, death drive, death drop, death duty, deathen, deather, death erection, death factor, deathfat, deathfear, deathfic, death-fire, death flag, death flight, deathful, death futures, death game, death glare, deathgrind, death grip, death growl, death grunt, deathhawk, death house, death-hunter, death instinct, deathism, death is the great leveller, death kit, death knell, death-knell, death knock, death lantern, deathless, deathlike, deathling, death list, deathlock, death loop, deathlore, deathly, deathmaking, death march, death mask, deathmatch, death-messenger, death messenger, death metal, death metaller, deathmonger, death-name, death note, death notification, death 'n' roll, death of despair, death-of-man, death of the author, death on, death panel, death penalty, death penny, death phase, death pile, death plane, death play, death pool, death-price, deathproof, deathpunk, death put, death rate, death-rattle, death rattle, death ray, death-ray, death ride, deathrock, death roll, death row, death save, deathscape, death seat, death sentence, death's-head, deathskull, death slide, death slot, deathsman, deathsome, death-sough, death spiral, death squad, deathstalker, death star, death stare, death-stare, death stick, death-stiffness, death-struggle, deathstyle, death tax, death threat, death throe, deathtime, death toll, deathtrap, death trap, Death Valley, death wail, deathward, deathwards, death warmed over, death warmed up, death warrant, deathwatch, deathwatch beetle, death-watch beetle, death whistle, deathwise, death wish, deathwish, death wobble, deathworthy, deathy, death zone, dice with death, die a death, die a thousand deaths, direct maternal death, do to death, dowry death, draw death, drink oneself to death, ego death, Euro death-knot, fan death, feel like death, fight to the death, first death, gay death, gigadeath, group of death, half to death, heat death, heat death of the universe, hug of death, identity death, in at the death, indirect maternal death, information-theoretic death, instadeath, in the article of death, jaws of death, kill-death ratio, kill-to-death ratio, Kimberley death adder, kiss of death, language death, laughing death, lesbian bed death, life after death, life-and-death, life-or-death, Life without Death, like death warmed over, like death warmed up, like grim death, living death, manner of death, maternal death, matter of life and death, matter of life or death, mechanism of death, megadeath, melodeath, melodic death metal, merchant of death, messenger of death, Mongolian death worm, multideath, near-death, near-death experience, nondeath, nothing is certain but death and taxes, pale as death, permadeath, pool of death, predeath, prodeath, pro-death, programmed cell death, psychic death, purple death, put to death, rain death, redeath, red ring of death, scared to death, scare someone to death, screen death, screen of death, second death, self-death, sickness unto death, sick unto death, sign one's death warrant, sign one's own death warrant, simultaneous death, smiling death, social death, strong as death, sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, sudden death, sudden death syndrome, sudden infant death syndrome, sudden oak death, sudden sniffing death syndrome, sudden unexpected death syndrome, sudden unexplained death syndrome, sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome, sure as death, sure as death and taxes, sure as death or taxes, sweet-after-death, table of death, thermal death time, till death do us part, till death us do part, time of death, to death, to the death, trauma triad of death, triangle of death, twink death, undeath, unlawful death, urban death, valley of death, valley of the shadow of death, voodoo death, wall of death, wheel of death, white screen of death, wrongful death, wrongful death statute, yellow light of death, yes to death, Yunnan sudden death syndrome, zip of death
Related terms
afterlife, cemetery, cremation, die, funeral, graveyard, morgue, mortal, mortician, mortuary, obituary, the big one, the big sleep, tombstone, farm upstate, devitalization, dead, corpse, interment, :Category:Death
Hyponyms
Big One

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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