death knell

noun

1. a harbinger of the end, death, or destruction of something.

2. passing bell.

death knell

noun

1. something that heralds death or destruction

2. a bell rung to announce a death

Idioms and Phrases

Something that indicates impending failure, as in His low scores sounded the death knell for his ambitions. The noun knell, used for the ringing of a bell since at least a.d. 1000, is rarely heard today except in this figurative phrase.

Example Sentences

And he warned the chancellor's Budget would "be the death knell to the British pub".

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R360 'would be death knell for club rugby around the world'

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Now its crash was like a death knell.

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UC President James B. Milliken said the announced cuts would be a “death knell for innovative work that saves lives, grows our economy and fortifies our national security.”

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Industrial automation in the 1970s, for example, was considered the death knell for American manufacturing that would lead to waves of unemployment and the loss of U.S. economic leadership.

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