death S1 W1 /deθ/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ dead , ↑ death , deadliness; adjective : ↑ dead , ↑ deadly , ↑ deathly ; adverb : ↑ deadly , ↑ deathly ; verb : ↑ deaden ]
[ Language: Old English ]
1 .
a) [uncountable] the end of the life of a person or animal
death of
The death of his mother came as a tremendous shock.
Cancer is the leading cause of death in women.
How Danielle met her death (=died) will probably never be known.
His friend was close to death.
His family are still mourning John’s tragic death.
the anniversary of Lenin’s death
bleed/burn/starve etc to death
a homeless man who froze to death
beat/stab/shoot etc somebody to death
The 76-year-old pensioner was beaten to death.
put/sentence/condemn somebody to death (=kill someone or decide they should be killed as an official punishment)
Legend has it that Sarah was put to death for practising witchcraft.
Members of the family have received death threats.
He remained president until his untimely death (=death at a surprisingly young age) .
Two of the passengers managed to escape death (=avoid being killed) .
b) [countable] a particular case when someone dies OPP birth :
a campaign to reduce the number of traffic deaths
death from
deaths from cancer
I heard there’d been a death in the family.
2 . the death of something the permanent end of something OPP birth :
The latest bombing is the death of all our hopes.
These regulations could spell the death (=lead to the end) of the American car industry.
3 . to death informal
a) used to emphasize that a feeling or emotion is very strong
be bored/scared/frightened etc to death
She was scared to death of what might happen next.
I’m absolutely sick to death of it (=very angry, bored, or unhappy about something) .
bore/scare/love etc somebody to death
He drove at a speed which frightened Leonora to death.
She used to worry me to death.
b) used to say that an action is continued with a lot of effort and for as long as possible:
They just work you to death in that place.
4 . do something to death informal to perform or present an idea, joke etc so often that people become tired of it:
Most of his material has been done to death by numerous comedians.
5 . to the death
a) until someone is dead:
They will fight to the death rather than give an inch of ground.
soldiers locked in a struggle to the death
b) until you achieve something even if it means that you suffer:
The leadership election has become a fight to the death.
6 . Death a creature that looks like a human ↑ skeleton , used in paintings, stories etc to represent the fact that people die
7 . be at death’s door to be very ill and likely to die
8 . look/feel like death warmed up British English , look/feel like death warmed over American English informal to look or feel very ill or tired
9 . you’ll catch your death (of cold) spoken old-fashioned used to warn someone that they are likely to become ill because they are wet or cold
10 . somebody will be the death of me spoken old-fashioned used to say that someone is causing you a lot of worry and problems:
That boy will be the death of me!
⇨ ↑ Black Death , ⇨ kiss of death at ↑ kiss 2 (3), ⇨ life and death at ↑ life (10)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ cause death
We still don't know what caused his death.
▪ lead to/result in death
Any delay in calling an ambulance may have resulted in her death.
▪ bleed/freeze/burn/starve to death
Thousands of people are starving to death.
▪ stab/beat/kick somebody to death
He was stabbed to death in an attack outside his home.
▪ sentence/condemn somebody to death (=decide someone must die as an official punishment)
Two men were sentenced to death for the killings.
▪ be put to death (=be killed as a punishment for something you have done)
The rebels were defeated and their leaders put to death.
▪ escape death (=avoid being killed)
He fell while climbing in the mountains, and only narrowly escaped death.
▪ meet your death formal (=die)
He met his death tragically while on holiday in Greece.
▪ mourn somebody's death (=feel very sad after someone has died)
The entertainment world was last night mourning the actor's death.
■ adjectives
▪ sudden death
Her sudden death shocked the world.
▪ tragic death
Her family are trying to come to terms with Anna's tragic death.
▪ early death (=at a young age)
Paul's first marriage ended with the early death of his wife.
▪ untimely death formal (=at a young age)
He remained President until his untimely death in 2004.
▪ premature death technical (=earlier than people usually die)
The disease is a significant cause of premature death in the developing world.
▪ accidental death (=caused by accident, not deliberately)
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
▪ violent death (=caused by violence, especially deliberately)
There is a high rate of violent death in America.
▪ certain death (=definitely going to happen)
Many of the prisoners faced certain death.
■ death + NOUN
▪ the death penalty (=the legal punishment of death)
In the west, most countries have abolished the death penalty.
▪ the death sentence (=the legal punishment of death)
Because of his young age, the judge decided not to impose the death sentence.
▪ the death rate (=the number of people who die each year from something)
The death rate from heart attacks is about 50% higher for smokers.
▪ the death toll (=the number of people who die in an accident)
Officials fear the death toll could be as high as 3000.
▪ a death threat (=a threat to kill someone deliberately)
The writer had received a number of death threats.
■ phrases
▪ the cause of death
The cause of death was a bullet in his chest.
▪ a sentence of death (=the official punishment of death for a crime)
There were strong protests against the sentence of death.