death
/ˈdɛθ/
noun
plural
deaths
death
/ˈdɛθ/
noun
plural
deaths
Britannica Dictionary definition of DEATH
1
a
[noncount]
:
the end of life
:
the time when someone or something dies
-
birth, life, and eventual death
-
fear of death
-
She is close to death. [=she will die soon]
-
death threats
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The hostage managed to escape death. [=avoid being killed]
-
The newspaper did not report the cause of death.
-
She was convicted of murder and sentenced/condemned to death. [=told that she would be killed as punishment]
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— see also brain death, death knell at knell
b
[count]
:
the ending of a particular person's life
-
People around the world mourned his death.
-
She worked at the newspaper until her death at (age) 74.
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The accident resulted in two deaths.
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The number of deaths from cancer is rising.
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He died a violent/tragic death.
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There has been a death in the family.
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She survived the plane crash and many years later died a natural death. [=from natural causes; because she was old]
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The general met his death on the battlefield.
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2
[count]
:
the permanent end of something that is not alive
:
the ruin or destruction of something
-
the death of innocence
-
the death of vaudeville
-
the death of a marriage
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3
Death
[noncount]
literary
:
the force that ends life and is often shown in art or literature as a skeleton
-
Death could be seen lurking in the corner of the painting.
-
when Death comes to take me away
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a matter of life and death
— see 1life
at death's door
:
about to die
:
very sick and in danger of dying
-
He is sick, but he's not at death's door.
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be the death of
:
to cause (someone) to die
-
I worry that his drug addiction will be the death of him.
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— often used figuratively
-
Those kids will be the death of me! [=they worry and upset me very much]
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catch your death (of cold)
— see 1catch
like death warmed over
(US)
informal
or British
like death warmed up
:
very tired or sick
-
We worked through the night, and by morning we looked like death warmed over.
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put to death
◊ A person or animal that is put to death is killed at a scheduled time by someone who is legally allowed to do so. a serial killer who was put to death [=executed] for the murder of 28 people The dog that attacked the children was later put to death. [+] more examples [-] hide examples [+] Example sentences [-] Hide examples
to death
1
— used to say how someone died or was killed
-
He was shot/stabbed to death.
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They froze/starved to death.
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She drank herself to death. [=drank a lot of alcohol until it made her so sick that she died]
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2
:
very much
:
to a great degree
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We were bored/scared to death. [=extremely bored/scared]
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That teacher works her students to death. [=she makes them work too hard]
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He's wonderful! I just love him to death!
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I'm sick to death of hearing about the scandal. [=I don't want to hear anything more about the scandal; I've heard too much about it]
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That song has been done to death. [=many musicians have performed that song]
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to the death
1
:
until someone is dead
-
The warriors would fight to the death.
-
a battle to the death
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2
:
with all of your energy and effort
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Some parents do not want the school to be closed, and say they'll fight to the death for it.
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— see also black death, kiss of death, sudden death
— deathlike
/ˈdɛθˌlaɪk/
adjective
-
a deathlike state
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