: 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
Recent Examples on the Web
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
2 July 2026
The wetland has absorbed toxic runoff from a warehouse fire before, resulting in a fish die-off.
—
Mack Baysinger
follow,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2026
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
26 June 2026
As a result, vegetation has died off, meaning a lack of oxygen.
—
Kambole Campbell,
Variety,
23 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for die-off
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Noun
Researchers found little evidence that disease caused the die-off.
—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
2 July 2026
The wetland has absorbed toxic runoff from a warehouse fire before, resulting in a fish die-off.
—
Mack Baysinger
follow,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2026
Verb
When this happens, the oven continues to generate microwaves that rapidly change frequency as the power dies off over a fraction of a second, mimicking dispersion.
—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
26 June 2026
As a result, vegetation has died off, meaning a lack of oxygen.
—
Kambole Campbell,
Variety,
23 June 2026
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 4 Jul. 2026.
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