perish
verb /ˈperɪʃ/
/ˈperɪʃ/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they perish | /ˈperɪʃ/ /ˈperɪʃ/ |
| he / she / it perishes | /ˈperɪʃɪz/ /ˈperɪʃɪz/ |
| past simple perished | /ˈperɪʃt/ /ˈperɪʃt/ |
| past participle perished | /ˈperɪʃt/ /ˈperɪʃt/ |
| -ing form perishing | /ˈperɪʃɪŋ/ /ˈperɪʃɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] (formal or literary) (of people or animals) to die, especially in a sudden violent way
- A family of four perished in the fire.
- Thousands perished at the hands of the invading forces.
- [intransitive] (formal) to be lost or destroyed
- Early buildings were made of wood and have perished.
- [intransitive, transitive] perish (something) (British English) if a material such as rubber perishes or is perished, it becomes damaged, weaker or full of holes
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French periss-, lengthened stem of perir, from Latin perire ‘pass away’, from per- ‘through, completely’ + ire ‘go’.
Idioms
perish the thought
- (informal or humorous) used to say that you find a suggestion unacceptable or that you hope that something will never happen
- Me get married? Perish the thought!