dieback

[dahy-bak]

noun

Plant Pathology.

1. a condition in a plant in which the branches or shoots die die from the tip inward, caused by any of several bacteria, fungi, or viruses or by certain environmental conditions.

dieback

/ ˈdaɪˌbæk /

noun

1. a disease of trees and shrubs characterized by death of the young shoots, which spreads to the larger branches: caused by injury to the roots or attack by bacteria or fungi

2. any similar condition of herbaceous plants

verb

1. (intr, adverb) (of plants) to suffer from dieback

Word History and Origins

Origin of dieback¹

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90; die ¹ + back ²

Example Sentences

The Ash dieback fungus originated in Asia and was introduced to Europe about 30 years ago.

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A separate study, published last week, made a similar warning of possible significant dieback of the Amazon if global warming exceeds the international target of 1.5C.

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In this new study, Bos and co-authors show that the ferns, which took advantage of the dieback of forests, themselves were subjected to stress from Hg-pollution well beyond the immediate extinction interval.

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If crossed, this could lead to the rapid and irreversible dieback of the whole rainforest - potentially leading to the region becoming a significant source of CO2 emissions.

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Cultural evolution among groups would tend to exacerbate resource competition and could lead to direct conflict between groups and even global human dieback.

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