deathnoun [ C or U ]
uk/deθ/us/deθ/B1 the end of life:
The disease causes thousands of deaths a year.
Do you believe in life after death?
He never got over the death of his daughter.
death threats
bored, frightened, etc. to death
B2 extremely bored, frightened, etc.
to death
C2 until you die:
The animals burned to death in the barn.
He choked to death on a fish bone.
The traitor was put to death (= killed as a punishment).
the death of sb/sth
the cause of the end of life, or the end or destruction of something:
The failure of the family business was the death of him.
That child will be the death of me (= is always doing something which upsets me)!
More examples
- She reacted surprisingly calmly to the news of his death.
- Following her son's death, she became quiet and withdrawn and rarely went out.
- He was jailed for 15 years for stabbing his wife to death.
- He gave a slight shudder as he considered how near he had come to death.
- The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Death and dying
- be pushing up (the) daisies idiom
- bereave
- bite
- bury
- buy the farm idiom
- deceased
- depart
- done
- drop
- expire
- foot
- gone
- inquest
- peg
- posthumous
- road kill
- SIDS
- strike
- sudden infant death syndrome
- the disappeared
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Linguistics: intensifying expressions
Ends and endings
Idiom(s)
be at death's door
be in at the death
catch your death of cold
look/feel like death warmed up