/deth/ , n.
1. the act of dying; the end of life; the total and permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism. Cf. brain death .
2. an instance of this: a death in the family; letters published after his death.
3. the state of being dead: to lie still in death.
4. extinction; destruction: It will mean the death of our hopes.
5. manner of dying: a hero's death.
6. ( usually cap. ) the agent of death personified, usually represented as a man or a skeleton carrying a scythe. Cf. Grim Reaper .
7. Also called spiritual death . loss or absence of spiritual life.
8. Christian Science. the false belief that life comes to an end.
9. bloodshed or murder: Hitler was responsible for the death of millions.
10. a cause or occasion of death: You'll be the death of me yet!
11. Archaic. pestilence; plague. Cf. Black Death .
12. at death's door , in serious danger of death; gravely ill: Two survivors of the crash are still at death's door.
13. be death on , Informal.
a. to be excessively strict about: That publisher is death on sloppily typed manuscripts.
b. to be snobbish about or toward.
c. to be able to cope with easily and successfully: The third baseman is death on pop flies.
14. do to death ,
a. to kill, esp. to murder.
b. to repeat too often, to the point of becoming monotonous and boring: That theme has been done to death.
15. in at the death ,
a. Fox Hunting. present at the kill.
b. present at the climax or conclusion of a situation.
16. put to death , to kill; execute.
17. to death , to an extreme degree; thoroughly: sick to death of the heat.
[ bef. 900; ME deeth, OE death; c. G Tod, Goth dauthus; akin to ON deyja to DIE 1 ; see -TH ]
Syn. 1. decease, demise, passing, departure.
Ant. 1. birth, life.