die
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to cease to live; undergo the complete and permanent cessation of all vital functions; become dead.
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(of something inanimate) to cease to exist.
The laughter died on his lips.
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to lose force, strength, or active qualities.
Superstitions die slowly.
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to cease to function; stop.
The motor died.
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to be no longer subject; become indifferent.
to die to worldly matters.
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to pass gradually; fade or subside gradually (usually followed by away, out, ordown ).
The storm slowly died down.
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Theology. to lose spiritual life.
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to faint or languish.
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to suffer as if fatally.
I'm dying of boredom!
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to pine with desire, love, longing, etc..
I'm dying to see my home again.
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to desire or want keenly or greatly.
I'm dying for a cup of coffee.
verb phrase
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die off to die one after another until the number is greatly reduced.
Her friends are dying off.
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die out
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to cease to exist; become extinct.
Both lines of the family died out before the turn of the century.
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to die away; fade; subside.
The roar of the engines died out as the rocket vanished into the clouds.
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die down to become calm or quiet; subside.
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die away (of a sound) to become weaker or fainter and then cease.
The hoofbeats gradually died away.
idioms
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to die for, stunning; remarkable.
That dress is to die for.
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die standing up, (of a performance) to be received with silence rather than applause.
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die hard,
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to die only after a bitter struggle.
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to give way or surrender slowly or with difficulty.
Childhood beliefs die hard.
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never say die, never give up hope; never abandon one's efforts.
noun
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dies,
plural
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dice
plural
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Machinery.
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any of various devices for cutting or forming material in a press or a stamping or forging machine.
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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.
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one of the separate pieces of such a device.
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a steel block or plate with small conical holes through which wire, plastic rods, etc., are drawn.
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an engraved stamp for impressing a design upon some softer material, as in coining money.
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singular of dice.
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Architecture. dado.
verb (used with object)
idioms
verb
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(of an organism or its cells, organs, etc) to cease all biological activity permanently
she died of pneumonia
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(of something inanimate) to cease to exist; come to an end
the memory of her will never die
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to lose strength, power, or energy, esp by degrees
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to become calm or quiet; subside
the noise slowly died down
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to stop functioning
the engine died
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to languish or pine, as with love, longing, etc
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informal (usually foll by of) to be nearly overcome (with laughter, boredom, etc)
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theol to lack spiritual life within the soul, thus separating it from God and leading to eternal punishment
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(tr) to undergo or suffer (a death of a specified kind) (esp in phrases such as die a saintly death )
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(foll by to) to become indifferent or apathetic (to)
to die to the world
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informal never give up
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to cease to exist after resistance or a struggle
old habits die hard
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to die while still working or active, prior to retirement
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to be eager or desperate (for something or to do something)
I'm dying to see the new house
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informal highly desirable
a salary to die for
noun
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a shaped block of metal or other hard material used to cut or form metal in a drop forge, press, or similar device
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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
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an internally-threaded tool for cutting external threads Compare tap 2
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a casting mould giving accurate dimensions and a good surface to the object cast See also die-cast
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architect the dado of a pedestal, usually cubic
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another name for dice
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perfectly honest
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the decision that commits a person irrevocably to an action has been taken
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.
- Used in a sentence: My dreams of being a rock star will never die.
- Used in a sentence: I managed to upload all of my files before my laptop died.
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing die
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I was told time and time again without the chemotherapy I would die," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
The American Cancer Society estimates that 333,830 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2026 and that 36,320 people will die from the disease.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
With prompt and appropriate medical care, maternal health experts say, women should not die.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
Lilian Edwards, a professor of law and technology at Newcastle University in England, says people should state how they want their digital information to be handled after they die.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
‘I swear, by my blood on this blade, and by each of my three souls that I will find the Mountain of the World Spirit. Or die trying.’
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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
After his success in Makerfield and then the Labour leadership contest, will Andy Burnham fancy another throw of the dice?
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Choosing to take Social Security at 62 versus 70 is a roll of the dice.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
That, and the fact that many of the people making these movies and shows rolled 20-sided dice with their pals back in the day.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
Some men in a corner booth shot dice, but the game was a quiet one.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
"We found that the inferred acceleration is directed mainly along the direction that we are moving locally, as indicated by the hotspot in the cosmic microwave background, and dies away with distance," explains Professor Sarkar.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
Aliet decides, after Kiju dies, to return permanently to her homeplace.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Pierce Thiot, creative executive at Maximum Effort, dies at 40.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Financial favouritism can cause jealousy and resentment long into adulthood and, in some cases, even spark legal disputes after a parent dies.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
But when someone really dies, there's just this horrible draggingness.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
He died on Saturday, his birthday, said Sully's Boxing Gym.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
A man died in Northern California’s Shasta Lake after attempting to save a dog who had gone into the water Friday morning, authorities said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
A 40-year-old Pennsylvania woman died Saturday from complications associated with measles, the local coroner said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
The number of women who died after an ectopic pregnancy has spiked in recent years, a ProPublica analysis found.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026
She told us that Marlene needed her to be there with her as much as possible, that she had been off her food and depressed ever since her mother had died.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Are you living and dieing by weather forecasts?
From Time Magazine Archive
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
This summer, great death chanced in this land, manie dieing of the pestilence, wherewith sundrie places were infected.
From Chronicles (3 of 6): Historie of England (1 of 9) Henrie IV by Raphael Holinshed
About the nearest tew absolute insolvency that a man kan git in this world, and think he iz dieing rich, iz to leave nothing but a pedigree tew hiz family.
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
Dairy intake may also be associated with the risk of dying from prostate cancer.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
“People want an excuse. They’re dying for someone to say, ‘You can get off that.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Those drugs have since gone generic and are widely accessible, but people keep dying of heart disease at stubbornly high rates, suggesting other culprits are at work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
“We were dying with every breath we took down there. What we learned is that the city knew it,” Lt.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026
All I can do is look after my children and look after my animals, and I will do both, to my dying breath.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
