death

UK: /ˈdɛθ/ US: /dɛθ/ ,(deth)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

death /dɛθ/   n. 

1. the act of dying;
   the end of life.
   [uncountable] jogging right up to the day of his death.
   [countable] all those deaths due to drunk driving.
2. the state of being dead:
   [uncountable] hands as cold as death.
3. [count;
   usually singular] end;
   destruction;
   extinction:
   Democracy for that country meant the death of civilization as they knew it.
4. [usually: Death;
   proper noun] the agent of death represented as a person, usually pictured as a robed figure or skeleton carrying a scythe.
5. [ count;
   usually singular;
   the + ~ ] a cause of death:
   You'll be the death of me yet!

Idioms

6. Idioms at death's door, in serious danger of dying;
   gravely ill:
   at death's door several times from heart attacks.
7. Idioms do to death:
   • [ do + obj + to + ~] to do so often that boredom sets in:
     a comic plot that's been done to death.
8. Idioms put to death, to kill;
   execute: [ put + obj + to + ~]:
   They put him to death immediately.
   [ put + to + ~ + obj]:
   That government put to death over 1,000 dissidents.
9. Idioms to death, to a degree that cannot be endured any longer:
   sick to death of your bickering.

death•like, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

death  (deth), n. 

1. the act of dying;
   the end of life;
   the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism. Cf. brain death.
2. an instance of this:
   a death in the family; letters published after his death.
3. the state of being dead:
   to lie still in death.
4. extinction;
   destruction:
   It will mean the death of our hopes.
5. manner of dying:
   a hero's death.
6. (usually cap.) the agent of death personified, usually represented as a man or a skeleton carrying a scythe. Cf. Grim Reaper.
7. Religion Also called spiritual death. loss or absence of spiritual life.
8. Religion [Christian Science.] the false belief that life comes to an end.
9. bloodshed or murder:
   Hitler was responsible for the death of millions.
10. a cause or occasion of death:
    You'll be the death of me yet!
11. [Archaic.] pestilence;
    plague. Cf. Black Death.
12. Idioms at death's door, in serious danger of death;
    gravely ill:
    Two survivors of the crash are still at death's door.
13. Idioms, Informal Terms be death on, [Informal.]
    • to be excessively strict about:
      That publisher is death on sloppily typed manuscripts.
    • to be snobbish about or toward.
    • to be able to cope with easily and successfully:
      The third baseman is death on pop flies.
14. Idioms do to death:
    • to kill, esp. to murder.
    • to repeat too often, to the point of becoming monotonous and boring:
      That theme has been done to death.
15. in at the death:
    • Sport [Fox Hunting.] present at the kill.
    • present at the climax or conclusion of a situation.
16. Idioms put to death, to kill;
    execute.
17. Idioms to death, to an extreme degree;
    thoroughly:
    sick to death of the heat.

• bef. 900; Middle English deeth, Old English dēath; cognate with German Tod, Gothic dauthus; akin to Old Norse deyja to die¹; see -th

Synonyms

• 1. decease, demise, passing, departure.

Antonyms

• 1. birth, life.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

death / dɛθ/ noun

1. the permanent end of all functions of life in an organism or some of its cellular components
2. an instance of this: her death ended an era
3. a murder or killing
4. termination or destruction
5. a state of affairs or an experience considered as terrible as death
6. a cause or source of death
7. (usually capital) a personification of death, usually a skeleton or an old man holding a scythe
8. to death, to the death ⇒ until dead: bleed to death, a fight to the death
9. to death ⇒ excessively: bored to death
10. at death's door ⇒ likely to die soon
11. catch one's death, catch one's death of cold ⇒ to contract a severe cold
12. do to death ⇒ to kill
13. to overuse (a joke, etc) so that it no longer has any effect
14. in at the death ⇒ present when an animal that is being hunted is caught and killed
15. present at the finish or climax
16. like death warmed up ⇒ very ill
17. like grim death ⇒ as if afraid for one's life
18. put to death ⇒ to kill deliberately or execute

Related adjective(s): fatal, lethal, mortal

Etymology: Old English dēath; related to Old High German tōd death, Gothic dauthus