1
a
: a permanent cessation of all vital (see vital sense 2a) functions : the end of life
The cause of death has not been determined.
managed to escape death
prisoners were put to death
death threats
compare brain death
b
: an instance of dying
a disease causing many deaths
lived there until her death
2
a
: the cause or occasion of loss of life
drinking was the death of him
b
: a cause of ruin
the slander that was death to my character—Wilkie Collins
The drought was death to the farm.
3
capitalized folklore
: the destroyer of life represented usually as a skeleton with a scythe
when death comes to take me away
4
: the state of being no longer alive : the state of being dead
5
a
: the passing or destruction of something inanimate
the death of vaudeville
b
: extinction
the death of the dinosaurs
6
law
: civil death
7
: slaughter
death and destruction
8
Christian Science
: the lie of life in matter : that which is unreal and untrue
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share