near-death experience

American  

[neer-deth ik-speer-ee-uhns] / ˈnɪərˈdɛθ ɪkˌspɪər i əns /

1. a sensation or vision, as of the afterlife, reported by a person who has come close to death. nde, NDE

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near-death experience British  

noun

1.  NDE.  an experience, instances of which have been widely reported, in which a person near death is apparently outside his body and aware of it and the attendant circumstances as separate from him

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Example Sentences

Surfboard shaper Timmy Patterson told the Orange County Register he survived a near-death experience after being caught inside a set of up to 20-foot waves at a remote break off Dana Point.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2026

And the Detroit stalwarts survived their own near-death experience during the 2007-09 recession, when U.S. taxpayers bailed out GM and Chrysler.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

When did you realize you had the courage to write about this near-death experience?

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2026

Although Alice never ran the risk of actually perishing in Wonderland, Arisu is another matter because of the very nature of the Borderland and how you gain entry through a near-death experience.

From Salon • Sep. 23, 2025

Taken to Boston City Hospital, it was determined that he had survived his near-death experience with only a bruised leg.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler