: a sudden sharp decline of a population of animals or plants that is not caused directly by human activity
died off; dying off; dies off
: to die sequentially either singly or in numbers so that the total number is greatly diminished
Examples of die-off in a Sentence
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Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 30 May 2025
The authors also pointed to the deaths of billions of intertidal invertebrates during the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome, as well as a catastrophic die-off of corals along 29 percent of the Great Barrier Reef, in the aftermath of a 2016 marine heat wave.
—Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 20 May 2025
Gabriel Popkin, Quanta Magazine, 16 June 2025
Nine months later, John is finally being laid to rest on Days, and Hogestyn's costars are opening up about the pain of shooting their onscreen father, grandfather, husband, and friend's funeral while Hogestyn was dying off screen.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 9 June 2025
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Noun
Research suggests the die-off, called semelparity, is caused by a combination of stressors from the physiological changes during mating season that leads to gastrointestinal ulcers, immune suppression, infections and death, according to Bush Heritage Australia.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 30 May 2025
The authors also pointed to the deaths of billions of intertidal invertebrates during the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat dome, as well as a catastrophic die-off of corals along 29 percent of the Great Barrier Reef, in the aftermath of a 2016 marine heat wave.
—Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 20 May 2025
Verb
In all ecosystems, the majority of starting species died off.
—Gabriel Popkin, Quanta Magazine, 16 June 2025
Nine months later, John is finally being laid to rest on Days, and Hogestyn's costars are opening up about the pain of shooting their onscreen father, grandfather, husband, and friend's funeral while Hogestyn was dying off screen.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for die-off
Cite this Entry
“Die-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/die-off. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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