perished; perishing; perishes
1
: to become destroyed or ruined : cease to exist
recollection of a past already long since perished—
Philip Sherrard
Philip Sherrardguard against your mistakes or your attempts (perish the thought) to cheat—C. B. Davis
C. B. Davis2
chiefly British
: deteriorate, spoil
Synonyms
Examples of perish in a Sentence
Two people perished in the fire.
The sailors perished at sea.
The civilization perished after 500 years.
Many ancient languages have perished over time.
The rubber will perish with age.
Recent Examples on the Web
For an employee who perished the way Pérez did, that would have meant payments until his toddler son was at least 18, which could approach a total of $500,000.
—Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 22 Oct. 2024
The dollar is not going to perish; gold will never be money in your pocket again.
—Clem Chambers, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2024
His friends outside the services, who just wanted to live their lives without being bothered by anything else, while fervent patriots, criminals and regime opponents alike perished at the front.
—Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024
The chances of slipping by without getting caught are higher, but so are the risks of perishing along the way.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for perish 
Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 22 Oct. 2024
The dollar is not going to perish; gold will never be money in your pocket again.
—Clem Chambers, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2024
His friends outside the services, who just wanted to live their lives without being bothered by anything else, while fervent patriots, criminals and regime opponents alike perished at the front.
—Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024
The chances of slipping by without getting caught are higher, but so are the risks of perishing along the way.
—Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, 19 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for perish
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near perish
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perish. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perish
verb
per·ish
ˈper-ish 
: to pass away completely : become destroyed
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