See Also:

die(2) (iou)



die verb1 intrans. . ME.
[Old Norse deyja (= Old Saxon doian, Old High German touwen), from Germanic base also of DEAD adjective & adverb. Corresp. verb perh. already in Old English, reinforced from Old Norse.]
I. Of animate or sentient things.
Of a person or animal: lose life, cease to live, suffer death; expire. Freq. with preposition phr. denoting the cause or manner of death. ME.
die of illness, die of hunger, die by violence, die by the sword, die by one's own hand, die from a wound, die through neglect, die on the scaffold, die at the stake, die in battle, die for a friend, die for a cause, die in poverty.
R. Campbell She died only the other day at the age of about a hundred and ten. J. Fowles Four sons, two of whom died in the First World War.
b. Theology. Suffer spiritual death; perish everlastingly. ME.
New English Bible: John 11:26 No one who is alive and has faith shall ever die.
Of a plant, living tissue, etc.: lose the vital force; cease to be alive. LME.
Shelley The pale flowers are dying. Nature After death of the brain, other organs and tissues die at different times.
Suffer the pains or dangers of death; face death. LME.
Bible (AV): 1 Corinthians 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Experience great suffering; languish; be consumed with longing for, desire greatly to do. L16.
G. Allen The pretty American's dying to see you.
Become exhausted with laughing; be overcome with embarrassment, boredom, etc. (Also foll. by of.) L16.
M. Wilmot I thought I should have died, when Lady Grace told him audibly he had turned over two leaves. P. Scott I am dying of thirst.
Have an orgasm. (Freq. a secondary sense in fig. uses of sense 1.) L16.
Pope Who only hoped upon his foe to die.
Of a person's heart: apparently stop beating, as in a faint. E17.
II. transf.
Come to an end, cease to exist; pass out of memory or knowledge. Of a flame etc.: go out. Of an engine: stop running. ME.
C. A. Lindbergh The engine sputtered and died. E. Waugh The secret had died with him.
Of a substance: lose its characteristic quality; become inactive or flat. E17.
Pass by dying into something else; change into something at death or termination; Architecture merge into, terminate gradually in or against. M17.
Tennyson The twilight died into the dark.
Pass gradually away, esp. out of hearing or sight; fade away. E18
S. Beckett A single confused sound,..swelling, dying. P. Barker Elaine..started to say something else, but the words died on her lips.
Phrases etc.: die a death meet a death of the specified kind. die game die fighting, not yielding to weakness or cowardice. die hard (a) die painfully or only after a hard struggle; (b) die obdurate or impenitent. die in harness die while in a job, die before retirement. die in one's bed die of natural causes. die in one's boots, (arch.) die in one's shoes = die with one's boots on below. die in the last ditch die desperately defending something, die fighting to the last extremity. die like a dog: see DOG noun. die on someone (a) die in the presence or charge of someone; (b) cease to be of use or interest to someone. die the death (arch. or joc.) be put to death; (of a performer, performance, etc.) be received very badly, be a failure. die with one's boots on, die with one's shoes on die a violent death. do or die: see DO verb. hope I may die, wish I may die, hope to die colloq.: said to vouch for the truth of an assertion. lie down and die: see LIE verb1. never say die refuse to give in, keep your courage up. to die for colloq. (as if) worth dying for; extremely good or highly desirable. the tune the cow died of, the tune the old cow died of: see TUNE noun. wish I may die: see hope I may die above. wish to curl up and die: see CURL verb.
With adverbs in specialized senses: die away (a) diminish gradually in force, activity, etc., cease or disappear by degrees; (b) (arch. or poet.) pass slowly from life, swoon; (c) Architecture merge gradually into an adjacent structure. die back (of the shoot of a plant etc.) die from the tip towards the root. die down (a) subside by natural degrees into a quieter state; (b) (of a plant) die above ground but stay alive below, as an annual occurrence. die off (a) be removed one by one by death, lose members by successive deaths; (b) (of a sound etc.) = die away (a) above. die out become extinct, gradually cease to be.
Comb.: die-away adjective having a languishing or affectedly feeble manner; die-back the progressive dying back of a shrub or tree shoot owing to disease or unfavourable conditions; die-in colloq. a demonstration in which people lie down as if dead.