grim reaper

noun

often capitalized G&R

: death especially when personified as a man or skeleton with a scythe

Examples of grim reaper in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Once known as the Dueling Grounds Race Course as men used this land to settle disputes of major proportion in the late 18th and early 19th century, Kentucky Downs has at times wrestled with the grim reaper. —Danny Brewer, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025

Also, demons—more specifically, the gat-wearing, hanbok-donning jeoseung saja, a kind of grim reaper tasked with guiding the dead to the afterlife in Korean mythology. —Kayti Burt, Time, 21 Aug. 2025

But two decades on, the grim reaper still walks the rows: 110 degrees, no tree, no tarp, a single water jug growing warm, its handle slick from dust and hands. —Dean Florez, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2025

Weren’t grim reapers on TV shows and in movies often portrayed as good-looking people? —Lizz Schumer, People.com, 18 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for grim reaper

• beekeeper
• bookkeeper
• doorkeeper
• gamekeeper
• gatekeeper
• goalkeeper
• housekeeper
• innkeeper
• minesweeper
• peacekeeper
• shopkeeper
• storekeeper