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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


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

"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

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In 2024, Rushdie published a memoir recounting the near-death experience called "Knife," in which he has an imagined conversation with Matar.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 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

Indeed, after the industry’s near-death experience during the pandemic, they’ve become more popular than ever.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 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

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