die1
/dʌɪ
/- In fact, I can't recall any account of an oak tree actually dying from old age; it may be that they go on and on, changing form and surviving until some accident destroys them.
- The fish farmers had to stop their activities, as their fish and shrimp died from the pollution.
- How many people have seen a fox dying from lead shot poisoning?
Synonyms
- But this is the first time that a species which completely died out in Britain has been reintroduced.
- Soon, if that trade isn't stopped, some species could die out altogether, said Prof Roberts.
- This will be in the same way that species die out if they do not physically adapt to events and their environment.
Synonyms
- After the song died down, there was a loud applause and a lot of cheers from the crowd.
- Friday was a bit of a false start as the contractions, if that is indeed what they were died away on Saturday.
- It seems to have died down now that the song's popularity has waned.
Synonyms
- Their above-ground parts die back, but their roots overwinter, and the plants resprout in the spring.
- But grasses are poor fodder: tough, low in nutrients, high in tooth-destroying silicates, and dying back to the roots in cold weather.
- This is a funny time of year in the garden with many plants dying back and everything tending to look rather messy and damp.
- We will leave the flowers until they have died off completely and then remove them.
- After blooming in the spring, allow the plants to grow until they die off.
- Until they die off, I fear we'll have little chance of being taken seriously.
- The fires are dying; other figures are spotted, hard to distinguish amongst the wisps of vapour that drift across the scene.
- When the last of the natural light had died I heard Mathias' voice boom out through the night sky like the last guest trying to hail a cab home.
- I am left alone, to wake and guard, until the seven fires die, and the fire in the pit also goes out.
- If your engine dies in your car, you slow down and stop.
- The engine died as he pulled into the spot and the transmission made a horrible, grinding noise as he shifted into park.
- I took a deep breath and pulled over to park, but before I did the engine just died.
Synonyms
- It is typical of Plazas's professionalism and realism that she is reluctant to advertise a wish list of roles she is dying to tackle.
- I knew you were dying to ask me that important question.
- Actually, I ran out to conduct a chair lift demonstration for our salesman M.K. and his buddies who were dying to see how the whole set-up worked.
Synonyms
- I had a look at the Gleaner's cartoon just now and I nearly died laughing!
- I nearly died, as I thought it would be included in web diary but not so prominently.
- I remember drinking with a friend who was wearing a Golden Bear polo shirt; well, I mean, I nearly died.
Phrases
die a (or the) death
die hard
die in bed
die in harness
die like flies
die on one's feet
die on the vine
die with one's boots on
never say die
to die for
Origin
Middle English: from Old Norse deyja, of Germanic origin; related to dead.
In surviving Old English texts the usual way of saying ‘to stop living’ is to starve or to swelt, or by a phrase incorporating the word dead. The form swelt survived in dialect, but has probably now died out. Die appeared in the early Middle Ages and came from an old Scandinavian word. To die hard, ‘to disappear or change very slowly’, is now generally used of habits or customs, but its origins lie in public executions. It was originally used in the 1780s to describe criminals who died struggling to their last breath on the infamous Tyburn gallows in London. A few years later, during the Peninsular War (fought between France and Britain in Spain and Portugal from 1808 to 1814), Lieutenant-Colonel Sir William Inglis, commander of the 57th Regiment of Foot, lay severely wounded on the front line of the Battle of Albuera. He refused to be carried to safety, and urged his men to ‘Die hard!’ They followed his brave example, sustaining heavy loss of life, and all of the dead were found with their wounds on the front of their bodies. The battle was eventually won, and their heroism earned them the nickname ‘the Die-hards’. In the early 20th century political circles took up the name to describe those who were determinedly opposed to reform, and the term diehard can still refer to someone who is stubbornly conservative or reactionary. See also dice
Rhymes
die2
/dʌɪ/- Each set replaces a single die in a normal (with the predator dice) game of Bongo.
- To include only a single die in a game that required rolling two or three at the same time would be astounding.
- In the sealing module, seal grids can be snapped in and out of the sealing-grid die to change the shape of the package seal.
- It's fairly easy to grind metal out of a die, but putting it back in presents a real problem.
- Some years back, the first coins produced with new dies looked better than the ones produced later.
- The pierced motifs were mechanically cut with a steel punch and the embossed decoration on the borders stamped out with steel dies.
Usage
In modern standard English, the singular die (rather than dice) is uncommon. Dice is used for both the singular and the plural.
Phrases
the die is cast
(as) straight as a die
Origin
Middle English: from Old French de, from Latin datum 'something given or played', neuter past participle of dare.