per ‧ ish /ˈperɪʃ/ BrE AmE verb
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: perir , from Latin perire 'to be destroyed' ]
1 . [intransitive] formal or literary to die, especially in a terrible or sudden way:
Hundreds perished when the ship went down.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] especially British English if rubber or leather perishes, it decays
3 . perish the thought! spoken old-fashioned used to say that you hope what someone has suggested will never happen:
If we lose, perish the thought, Watford will take first place.
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THESAURUS
▪ die to stop being alive, as a result of old age or illness:
I want to see Ireland again before I die.
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No wonder your plants always die – you don’t water them enough.
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His son died of liver cancer three years ago.
▪ pass away to die – used when you want to avoid using the word ‘die’, in order to show respect or to avoid upsetting someone:
My wife had just passed away, and I didn’t want to be around people.
▪ pass on to pass away – use this especially when you believe that the soul has a life after the death of the body:
I’m sorry, Emily, but your mother has passed on.
▪ lose your life to be killed in a terrible event:
Hundreds of people lost their lives when the ship overturned in a storm.
▪ perish literary to die in a terrible event – used especially in literature and news reports:
Five children perished before firefighters could put out the blaze.
▪ give your life/lay down your life formal to die in order to save someone, or because of something that you believe in:
We honor the men and women who have given their lives in service of their country.
▪ drop dead informal to suddenly die, when people do not expect you to:
One day, he came home from work and dropped dead of a heart attack.
▪ kick the bucket/pop your clogs British English , buy the farm American English informal to die – used when you are not talking seriously about death:
It’s not like I’m going to kick the bucket tomorrow.