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Glite Dictionary
to go the way of all flesh

to go the way of all flesh

1 9.7
To stop living as a natural part of life
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : irse como todos los mortales

Examples

  • I could have gone the way of all flesh.

    Academic text (2006)

  • After all, after death, breasts and family jewels go the way of all flesh.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • As everyone must eventually face, he understood that he would go the way of all flesh one day.

  • She accepted the harsh reality that loved ones go the way of all flesh as part of life.

  • The aging actor remarked that even stars must go the way of all flesh eventually.

Synonyms

to die
vsto go the way of all flesh
∞ 1.0

To stop living and no longer be alive

emphasizes the natural end of life as part of normal ageing
to pass
vsto go the way of all flesh
  • Formal
537 3.8

To stop living

emphasizes natural life ending rather than being merely indirect or polite
to die of
vsto go the way of all flesh
520 1.1

To stop living because of a cause like disease or old age

focuses on natural life ending rather than deaths linked to particular causes
to perish
vsto go the way of all flesh
  • Formal
121 6.0

To die suddenly or violently, often in large numbers

refers to natural life ending rather than sudden, violent, or untimely ends
to decease
vsto go the way of all flesh
  • Archaic
62 9.9

To stop living, used in formal or old language

stresses natural life ending rather than the formal or legal register
to exit
vsto go the way of all flesh
  • Formal
10 8.6

To die

emphasizes natural life ending rather than a joking or formal turn of phrase
to pass away
vsto go the way of all flesh
8 3.8

To die peacefully in a gentle, respectful way

focuses on natural life ending rather than polite or softened phrasing
to shuffle off this mortal coil
vsto go the way of all flesh
  • Archaic
2 9.9

To stop living, often said in poems or books

frames the end of life as natural rather than as poetic or theatrical
to snuff it
vsto go the way of all flesh
  • Slang
2 9.9

To stop living and not come back

describes natural life ending in neutral terms rather than crude informality
to go the way of the dodo
vsto go the way of all flesh
2 8.6

To stop being used and disappear completely

applies to natural human life ending rather than to species or things disappearing
to lose one's life
vsto go the way of all flesh
4.2

Die because of an accident, violence, or disaster

focuses on natural life ending rather than deaths caused by accidents or violence

Antonyms

to live
∞ 1.0

To continue to be alive

to survive
∞ 2.7

Continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult event

Surface Forms

go the way of all flesh infinitive
went the way of all flesh past
gone the way of all flesh past participle
going the way of all flesh present participle
goes the way of all flesh third person singular

Morphology

go + the + way + of + all + flesh

This is an archaic/biblical idiom whose death meaning is not transparently built from the literal words 'go', 'way', 'all', and 'flesh'. A B1 learner who knows the constituents is unlikely to infer 'to die' because the construction is idiomatic and culturally bound rather than a standard compositional combination.

Etymology

Go the way of all flesh comes from old Bible language, where all flesh means all living bodies and the way is the same road everyone walks when life ends, so the phrase came to mean 'to die'.