perish

American  

[per-ish] / ˈpɛr ɪʃ /

verb (used without object)

1. to die or be destroyed through violence, privation, etc..

   to perish in an earthquake.

   Synonyms:

   expire

2. to pass away or disappear.

   an age of elegance that has forever perished.

   Synonyms:

   vanish, molder, rot, shrivel, wither

   Antonyms:

   appear

3. to suffer destruction or ruin.

   His valuable paintings perished in the fire.

4. to suffer spiritual death.

   Save us, lest we perish.

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idioms

1. perish the thought, may it never happen: used facetiously or as an afterthought of foreboding.

perish British  

/ ˈpɛrɪʃ /

verb

1. to be destroyed or die, esp in an untimely way

2. (tr sometimes followed by with or from) to cause to suffer

   we were perished with cold

3. to rot

   leather perishes if exposed to bad weather

4. may it never be or happen thus

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noun

1. informal to die or come near to dying of thirst or starvation

perish More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing perish

• publish or perish

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Related Words

See die ¹.

Other Word Forms

• perishless adjective
• perishment noun
• unperished adjective

Etymology

Origin of perish

1200–50; Middle English perissen < Old French periss-, long stem of perir < Latin perīre to perish, literally, go through, spend fully, equivalent to per- per- + īre to go

Explanation

To perish means to die. Your brother's goldfish might perish if he forgets to feed it — so be sure to remind him that Goldie needs her dinner! Perish comes from a Latin verb that means "to pass away." Many passengers on the Titanic perished after the ship hit an iceberg. Perish can also be used figuratively, as when an op-ed argues that the idea of the American Dream perished in the 21st century. People also sometimes use this word simply to be dramatic. You might, for instance, tell your mom that you'll perish if you aren't allowed to spend the weekend at your best friend's house.

Example Sentences

Evolution occurs through random variation and natural selection: The strong survive and reproduce; the weak perish.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

Instead, there are scores of planets and moons where humans, if exposed to local conditions without life support, would perish immediately.

From Slate • Dec. 9, 2025

It’s still uncertain how many of the trees it scorched will perish.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025

"However, a much more severe disease arrives, one that improved varieties are normally more resistant to... and the local varieties perish, or perhaps don't produce fruit," he told AFP.

From Barron's • Nov. 14, 2025

There cannot be very many hunters, because if they consume all the floaters, the hunters themselves will perish.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• cease
• crumble
• disappear
• disintegrate
• pass away
• rot
• succumb
• vanish
• wither