natural death

American  

noun

1. death that occurs from natural causes, as disease or old age, rather than from violence or an accident.

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Etymology

Origin of natural death

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

“A natural death would have been less painful for us, the humans watching, as he started to flourish in the wild,” Tiana Williams-Claussen, the tribe’s wildlife department director, said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2025

Nearly all of those who requested assisted dying - around 96% - had a foreseeable natural death.

From BBC • Dec. 11, 2024

The medical examiner concluded it was a natural death caused by heart problems.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 12, 2024

It was a fairly radical innovation in its day, an era when kings and emperors generally gave up power only upon natural death or at the point of a weapon.

From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2023

It is often said that nature has no disdain, and therefore the natural death lacks the concept of anger, of revenge, of meanness, and that it is even sometimes—shudder—beautiful.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen