Showing results for "die"

• singular of dice.

die

¹ American  

[dahy] / daɪ /

verb (used without object)

died, dying

1. to cease to live; undergo the complete and permanent cessation of all vital functions; become dead.

   Synonyms:

   depart, expire

2. (of something inanimate) to cease to exist.

   The laughter died on his lips.

3. to lose force, strength, or active qualities.

   Superstitions die slowly.

4. to cease to function; stop.

   The motor died.

5. to be no longer subject; become indifferent.

   to die to worldly matters.

6. to pass gradually; fade or subside gradually (usually followed by away, out, ordown ).

   The storm slowly died down.

7. Theology. to lose spiritual life.

8. to faint or languish.

9. to suffer as if fatally.

   I'm dying of boredom!

10. to pine with desire, love, longing, etc..

    I'm dying to see my home again.

11. to desire or want keenly or greatly.

    I'm dying for a cup of coffee.

---

verb phrase

1. die off to die one after another until the number is greatly reduced.

   Her friends are dying off.

2. die out

   1. to cease to exist; become extinct.

      Both lines of the family died out before the turn of the century.

   2. to die away; fade; subside.

      The roar of the engines died out as the rocket vanished into the clouds.

3. die down to become calm or quiet; subside.

4. die away (of a sound) to become weaker or fainter and then cease.

   The hoofbeats gradually died away.

idioms

1. to die for, stunning; remarkable.

   That dress is to die for.

2. die standing up, (of a performance) to be received with silence rather than applause.

3. die hard,

   1. to die only after a bitter struggle.

   2. to give way or surrender slowly or with difficulty.

      Childhood beliefs die hard.

4. never say die, never give up hope; never abandon one's efforts.

die ² American  

[dahy] / daɪ /

noun

• dies,
  plural
• dice
  plural

1. Machinery.

   1. any of various devices for cutting or forming material in a press or a stamping or forging machine.

   2. a hollow device of steel, often composed of several pieces to be fitted into a stock, for cutting the threads of bolts or the like.

   3. one of the separate pieces of such a device.

   4. a steel block or plate with small conical holes through which wire, plastic rods, etc., are drawn.

2. an engraved stamp for impressing a design upon some softer material, as in coining money.

3. singular of dice.

4. Architecture. dado.

---

verb (used with object)

died, dieing

1. to impress, shape, or cut with a die.

idioms

1. the die is cast, the irrevocable decision has been made; fate has taken charge.

   The die is cast—I can't turn back.

die ¹ British  

/ daɪ /

verb

1. (of an organism or its cells, organs, etc) to cease all biological activity permanently

   she died of pneumonia

2. (of something inanimate) to cease to exist; come to an end

   the memory of her will never die

3. to lose strength, power, or energy, esp by degrees

4. to become calm or quiet; subside

   the noise slowly died down

5. to stop functioning

   the engine died

6. to languish or pine, as with love, longing, etc

7. informal (usually foll by of) to be nearly overcome (with laughter, boredom, etc)

8. theol to lack spiritual life within the soul, thus separating it from God and leading to eternal punishment

9. (tr) to undergo or suffer (a death of a specified kind) (esp in phrases such as die a saintly death )

10. (foll by to) to become indifferent or apathetic (to)

    to die to the world

11. informal never give up

12. to cease to exist after resistance or a struggle

    old habits die hard

13. to die while still working or active, prior to retirement

14. to be eager or desperate (for something or to do something)

    I'm dying to see the new house

15. informal highly desirable

    a salary to die for

---

die ² British  

/ daɪ /

noun

1. 1. a shaped block of metal or other hard material used to cut or form metal in a drop forge, press, or similar device

   2. a tool of metal, silicon carbide, or other hard material with a conical hole through which wires, rods, or tubes are drawn to reduce their diameter

2. an internally-threaded tool for cutting external threads Compare tap 2

3. a casting mould giving accurate dimensions and a good surface to the object cast See also die-cast

4. architect the dado of a pedestal, usually cubic

5. another name for dice

6. perfectly honest

7. the decision that commits a person irrevocably to an action has been taken

---

die More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing die

• curl up (and die)
• do or die
• it's to die
• never say die

---

Usage

What is a basic definition of die? Die is a verb that means to stop living, to stop existing, or to stop functioning. Die has several other senses as a verb and a noun. When somebody dies, they are no longer alive. They have become dead. All living things will eventually die. Someone can die from disease, violence, or anything else that causes their vital organs (heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and lungs) to stop working.

• Real-life examples: Everyone who is dead has died. Plants die when they don’t get enough sunlight and water. Animals die from many of the same things as humans. Antibiotics are designed to cause disease-causing bacteria to die.
• Used in a sentence: I forgot to water my sunflower, so it died. 

For nonliving things, the word die means to stop existing. If your hope dies, for example, you don’t have hope anymore. It’s gone.

• Used in a sentence: My dreams of being a rock star will never die. 

For machinery or electronics, to die means to stop working or functioning. Often, this sense is used to refer to batteries or an engine dying, that is losing their power. It can also be used to describe something that is broken beyond repair.

• Used in a sentence: I managed to upload all of my files before my laptop died. 

Die is also used in several different idioms that have nothing to do with death. For example, the idiom to die for means to want something a lot. To die laughing means to be very amused.

Synonym Usage

Die, pass away ( pass on; pass ), perish mean to relinquish life. To die is to become dead from any cause and in any circumstances. It is the simplest, plainest, and most direct word for this idea, and is used figuratively of anything that has once displayed activity: An echo, flame, storm, rumor dies. Pass away (or pass on or pass ) is a commonly used euphemism implying a continuation of life after death: Grandfather passed away ( passed on or passed ). Perish, a more literary term, implies death under harsh circumstances such as hunger, cold, neglect, etc.; figuratively, perish connotes utter extinction: Hardship caused many pioneers to perish. Ancient Egyptian civilization has perished.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• dice
  plural
• dies
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of die¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English dien, deien, from Old Norse deyja; cf. dead, death

Origin of die²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English de (in early Modern English taking the vowel of the plural form dice ), from Old French de(i), presumably from Latin datum “given” (neuter past participle of dare “to give”), perhaps in the derivative sense “put, placed,” hence “played, cast”

---

Explanation

Your friend would be furious if you promised you would water his plants while he was out of town, and then let his favorite fern die. To die is to expire, or to cease to be alive. The verb to die means "to stop living," and it's also used to exaggerate a need or want, like when you say, "I would die to have those shoes." When die is a noun, it means a metal-cutting tool or the single form of dice: "Hand me the die, it's my turn to roll." When you're talking about permanently staining or coloring something, you have to use the word dye.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

die dice dies died dieing dying

It leaves audiences asking if these climbers who die for their all-consuming passions are showing their kids what it means to really live, or turning their children into the collateral damage of their adult dreams.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

With its gridlocked terminals, infuriating delays and long lines for everything from security checks to coffee, LAX might be where patience goes to die.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Figures also suggest the proportion of patients who die in the Grange's emergency department remains below the Welsh average and has shown sustained improvement.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

Nearly 85 percent of patients die within five years of being diagnosed.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026

I don’t give a care what could or might happen to me—this kid will not die alone.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Have you had enough of the mayor you know, and are you ready to roll the dice on someone you don’t?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

"I think it really is a last throw of the dice," says automotive journalist Steve Fowler.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

"We're rolling the dice with our children," Carter declared at a House of Representatives hearing.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

He plans to pay the fine — roughly one game’s worth of pay — pass go and roll the dice again like nothing happened.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Since the dice are independent, your chances that a 4 will come up on all three dice are Ye x Vs x Vs — V21&; so, approximately l/216th of the time you’ll win $3.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

First, it’s an old-fashioned love story with a fantastical twist: Lively’s character dies in a car crash but is revived when she’s struck by lightning, only to stop aging forever.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026

Carnegie argued in his 1889 essay "The Gospel of Wealth" that "the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced," and by his death had given away the bulk of his fortune, about $350 million.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

Derek dies, pitching Margaret into a deeper valley of despond.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

The myth dies hard, and in the internet age, when everyone can find their own echo chamber, it can go on for a long time.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The music dies down and I open my eyes.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

Loveless, who has since died, is the mother of Meghan Markle's two half-siblings.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

Tony Berlant, a seminal influence in the West Coast Pop Art movement of the 1960s, died Tuesday after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

He knew as a documentarian he wanted to include the footage that shows how Nelson died.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

If they died at home, then the belief is that their yuurei won't go away.

From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026

We haven’t had a chance to work on it much since Pops died.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Are you living and dieing by weather forecasts?

From Time Magazine Archive

And ye mr of ye ship & some 6. of ye mariners dieing, it seemed they could not find ye bay, till after long seeking & beating aboute.

From Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation' From the Original Manuscript. With a Report of the Proceedings Incident to the Return of the Manuscript to Massachusetts by William Bradford

You may have heard for this long while he was dieing of the ——; he now come abroad and look a divel, or at least a sad memento mori.

From The Tatler, Volume 1, 1899 by George A. Aitken

The hum buggs don’t generally live a grate while at once, but have the fackulty ov dieing in one place, and being suddenly born in another.

From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Henry W. Shaw

I tried being an old bachelor till i waz about twenty years old, and cum very near dieing a dozen times.

From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Henry W. Shaw

Some of the most extreme examples are found in supernova remnants, the expanding clouds of material left behind when certain dying stars explode.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

Are we underestimating the financial consequences of one of us dying relatively soon, or of either of us requiring long-term care?

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

The company reaches 100,000 people and reduces each person’s risk of dying by 1 in 10,000—averting an expected 10 deaths.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

Licensing each song ensures musicians and rights holders are paid, and lets people request the songs they’ve been dying to sing, from emo deep cuts to Puccini operas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

And then he is gone, disappearing back into the house, and the fire in the yard is dying, and the breeze in the air is cooling and time is passing.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• deteriorate
• disappear
• end
• expire
• fail
• fall
• pass
• stop
• vanish

---