Definition of "death"

death

/dɛθ/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural deaths
1. The cessation of life and all associated processes; the end of an organism's existence as an entity independent from its environment and its return to an inert, nonliving state.
  Quotations
  But foraſmuch as this [the faintneſs of the Heart] is a very bad and heavy diſtemper, and a fore-runner of death, therefore 'tis called a timely death.
  1680, T. K., The Kitchin-Phyſician; Or, a Guide for Good-Housewives in Maintaining Their Families in Health. […] ‎, To cure the faintneſs of the Heart, page 71
  Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly.
  1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […]
  "‘Death,’" quoted Warwick, with whose mood the undertaker's remarks were in tune, "‘is the penalty that all must pay for the crime of living.’"
  1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars
  Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, […]
  2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist
  1. Execution (in the judicial sense).
    Quotations
    Thirty years after Gao Chengyong embarked on a succession of 11 rape-murders of women in northwest China, a court sentenced him to death on Friday, following an investigation that involved sifting through 230,000 fingerprints.
    2018 March 30, Chris Buckley, “‘Vicious’ Killer of 11 Women Gets Death Penalty in China”, in The New York Times‎, archived from the original on 31 March 2018, Asia Pacific‎
2. (often capitalized) The personification of death as a (usually male) hooded figure with a scythe; the Grim Reaper.
  Quotations
  And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, & his name that sat on him was Death"
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Revelation 6:8
  [T]o thoſe, Jonathan, who know what death is, and what havock and deſtruction he can make, before a man can well wheel about—'tis like a whole age.
  1762, [Laurence Sterne], chapter IX, in The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, volume V, London: […] T. Becket and P. A. Dehondt, […], page 51
  O boy! running man is out of death ... Anyway, they say she comes on a pale horse
  1974, Anthony Banks, Michael Rutherford, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Steve Hackett (lyrics and music), “Anyway”, in The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, performed by Genesis
3. (preceded by the) The collapse or end of something.
  Quotations
  He may even find himself being blamed if the project dies a quick and horrible death at the box office or is unceremoniously axed by the network.
  1983, Robert R. Faulkner, Music on Demand, page 90
  1. (figuratively, especially followed by of-phrase) A cause of great stress, exhaustion, embarrassment, or another negative condition (for someone).
4. (figurative) Spiritual lifelessness.

Definition of "death"

death

noun

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations