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near-death experience

American

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

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

near-death experience British

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

A near-death experience with malaria at age 29 put Musk on a path looking for bigger meaning in life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 13, 2026

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

Yu traces its beginnings to a near-death experience he had as a child growing up in rural China.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2025

West Ham striker Michail Antonio's near-death experience has changed him, compelling him to engage with a recovery process containing mental and physical obstacles.

From BBC • May 16, 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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023