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death

death

186 1.0
The end of something like a business or idea
  • noun
  • /dɛθ/
: fin
  • Under our base case scenario, we estimate that annual radon deaths will drop by 42% by the year 2075.
  • death of the forest
  • death of God

And the truth I didn't know was the death of my value and my worth.

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Examples

  • You associate cold with death, warmth with life.

  • The current death toll stands... at 52.

  • Why he felt the need to record these deaths, he could not explain.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • China now looks set only for more death and more destruction.

  • A man has just been sentenced to death.

  • Indeed, a 1937 article on the 21 leading causes of death among southern Blacks did not include diabetes.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The patients don't think about how a death affects this facility.

  • We earned this paradise by a death we didn't deserve.

  • Quaid people too have been portrayed as courting death through risky lifestyles.

  • The report revealed that road accidents are a leading cause of death in the region.

Synonyms

loss
vsdeath
508 2.6

The death of someone close to you

is the neutral description of an end rather than the personal experience of grief
extinction
vsdeath
135 4.4

The dying out of a species so it no longer exists

is the general idea of ending rather than specifically about species or groups
demise
vsdeath
130 7.0

The end of a plan, institution, or idea

applies more to plans or organizations rather than all endings
loss of life
vsdeath
  • Literature
59 3.5

Deaths of people caused by accidents, disasters, or violence

is broader and covers any end or destruction, not only human cases
annihilation
vsdeath
  • NSFW
43 8.1

Complete destruction so nothing is left

covers ends generally without implying total obliteration or absolute ruin
dying
vsdeath
7 5.9

The end of something, often hope or belief

is about the moment something stops existing rather than the ongoing process
eternal rest
vsdeath
  • Formal
6 7.1

A peaceful state after death that lasts forever

focuses on the neutral end rather than a peaceful or eternal state
expiration
vsdeath
  • Formal
4 7.7

The end of a person's life when they stop living

is the general neutral term for the end or destruction itself

Antonyms

123 1.0

The start of something new, for example a life or an era

58 3.6

An act of something keeping going without stopping

Idioms

scared to death
  • Informal
81 3.2

So frightened that you cannot move or speak

62 7.2

With strong determination to keep fighting until someone dies

48 3.7

To frighten someone very much

To keep fighting until one side is defeated, even if people die

A very serious situation where someone may die

16 7.5

A promise to stay married for the rest of both people's lives

An action or event that causes something to fail completely

5 8.2

To become very sick from being outside in the cold, often said as a warning

death and taxes
  • Informal
4 3.7

Two things in life that are certain and cannot be avoided

2 8.8

Many small problems that slowly make something stop working

Compounds

326 4.1

A legal punishment in which a person is killed for a very serious crime

178 2.8

The reason a person died as recorded by a doctor or other official

142 5.7

A part of a prison where people who will be executed wait

129 4.6

A very serious situation where someone may not survive

death toll
  • Literature
82 3.5

Number of people who have died because of an accident, war, or disaster

63 5.2

An official punishment where a court orders someone to be put to death for a crime

44 6.7

A very serious situation that may cause death if you do not act

death wish
  • Specialized
38 8.6

A secret desire to die that a person does not show

An experience people have when they almost die, often seeing light or feeling peace

death rate
  • Specialized
27 2.7

The number of people who die in a population each year shown per 1,000 people

death squad
  • Offensive
26 9.7

A secret group that kills political opponents or accused criminals without a trial

valley of death
  • Informal
25 9.0

A very dangerous situation where people may not survive

24 7.2

A death caused by another person's illegal or careless action that allows the family to sue

Involving a very serious risk to life or survival

violent death
  • Offensive
19 6.5

Death caused by physical force or injury, not by illness

death warrant
  • Formal
18 8.0

An official paper ordering the execution of a person sentenced to death

death camp
  • NSFW
18 8.4

A prison camp where people are kept and killed, often used by Nazi Germany in World War II

death panel
  • Jargon
14 9.6

A group that decides whether people get health care near the end of life

13 3.2

A very hot desert valley in eastern California and southwestern Nevada that has North America's lowest point

11 5.9

A government charge on property given to people after someone dies

9 8.1

An event or sign that shows something will end

8 6.7

A large outbreak of plague in Europe in the mid 1300s that killed millions

8 8.4

A situation that gets worse and worse until it fails completely

death benefit
  • Specialized
8 4.0

Money that an insurance or pension plan pays to people named when someone dies

brain death
  • Specialized
7 5.8

A condition when all brain activity stops and cannot return, even if the heart still beats

cell death
  • Specialized
7 3.9

A natural process in which living cells die during growth or repair

infant death
  • Specialized
6 5.7

A baby who seemed healthy dies suddenly, often during sleep

6 9.8

A part of a prison where people sentenced to die wait for their execution

sudden death
  • Jargon
6 3.5

An overtime period where the first score wins the game

5 9.1

A sealed room for killing people by releasing poison gas

living death
  • Informal
4 9.3

A life that feels like being dead because of great suffering

4 8.3

A cast of a dead person's face kept as a memory or used by artists

4 3.7

The sudden death of a baby under one year while sleeping, with no known cause

3 7.4

A fierce look that shows anger or dislike

death star
  • Informal
3 8.1

A very large company or project that crushes smaller rivals

dance of death
  • Literature
3 9.9

An image showing death as a skeleton leading rich and poor people to the grave

crib death
  • Archaic
3 7.4

A sudden unexpected death of a healthy baby while sleeping

death list
  • Offensive
2 9.3

A list of people someone plans to kill or hurt

merchant of death
  • Offensive
2 9.5

A person who sells weapons to make money, often causing violence

1 9.9

A chair used to kill a person with electricity

social death
  • Specialized
1 8.9

Being left out and ignored by people in your community

neonatal death
  • Specialized
1 5.2

A baby born alive who dies within the first 28 days of life

programmed cell death
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A process where a cell kills itself to help the body stay healthy

self-death
  • NSFW
1 9.9

An act of ending your life or your old identity to begin a new life

cerebral death
  • Specialized
1 7.9

Complete and permanent loss of all brain activity and consciousness while the body may still have a heartbeat

death duty
  • Archaic
1 8.1

A tax paid to the government on things a person owned when they died

death instinct
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A strong hidden wish to die or to harm yourself

1 8.0

A bell that a church or community rings to tell people someone has died

cot death
  • Archaic
1 6.5

Sudden unexpected death of a healthy baby while sleeping

1 8.3

A bell rung to announce someone's death

1 9.9

A hiking path that is very dangerous and often causes injury or death for hikers

1 9.9

A very poisonous white mushroom that can kill people and is often mistaken for edible mushrooms

1 9.9

A plant with leaves like grass and small white flowers that is poisonous

1 8.4

Killing a living thing, for example as punishment or to end suffering

1 9.9

A very poisonous white mushroom that can kill you if you eat it

death seat
  • Informal
1 8.4

The front passenger seat people think is most dangerous in a car crash

1 8.4

A list of people killed, often during a war or disaster

death adder
  • Australian
1 9.3

A dangerous Australian snake with strong venom and a thick body that strikes quickly

1 9.1

A planned way cells destroy themselves using caspase enzymes to remove damaged or dangerous cells

1 7.6

A risky early period when a project lacks money to become a product

civil death
  • Formal
1 9.9

A state in which a person loses most legal rights such as voting and owning property

1 9.9

A very poisonous white mushroom with a cup-shaped base and white gills that can kill if eaten

advance death benefit
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A part of life insurance paid early to a person likely to die soon

grassy death camas
  • Specialized
9.9

A poisonous plant with grass-like leaves that kills grazing animals

Surface Forms

death singular
deaths plural

Etymology

Death comes from the same old root that meant 'the end' and is related to the everyday word dead, so people also use death to talk about the end or destruction of things like a career, idea, or style. That is why death can mean the stopping or disappearance of something, not just a person.