Grim Reaper

American  

noun

1. the personification of death as a man or cloaked skeleton holding a scythe.

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Grim Reaper Cultural  

1. A figure commonly used to represent death. The Grim Reaper is a skeleton or solemn-looking man carrying a scythe, who cuts off people's lives as though he were harvesting grain.

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Usage

What is the Grim Reaper? The Grim Reaper is a fictional skeleton wearing a black robe and wielding a scythe, generally portrayed as the embodiment of death. How is term pronounced?[ grim ree-per ]

Etymology

Origin of Grim Reaper

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

One thing to be said in favor of the Grim Reaper: His taste in literature is pretty sound.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

“The look of those boys in the Third Act reveal is based on the Jeoseung saja, the Grim Reaper Korean mythology,” Chris Appelhans, who co-wrote and co-directed the movie with Maggie Kang, told Salon.

From Salon • Jun. 29, 2025

Cartoonists often depicted the Grim Reaper seated behind the wheel.

From Slate • May 25, 2024

During renovation work in 2014, the image of the Grim Reaper in a boat was removed to preserve it in the M-Shed museum.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2024

If the woman at Cape Fear was actually the Grim Reaper, then I need to prepare for my time of death to be moved up approximately thirty years.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer