demise

noun

de·mise | \ di-ˈmīz

Definition of demise

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : death

b : a cessation of existence or activity

c : a loss of position or status

2 : the conveyance of an estate

3 : transfer of the sovereignty to a successor

demise

verb

demised; demising

Definition of demise (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to convey by will or lease demise an estate

2 : to transmit by succession or inheritance

3 obsolete : convey, give

intransitive verb

1 : die, decease

2 : to pass by descent or bequest the property has demised to the king's heirs

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Examples of demise in a Sentence

Noun

… invited visitors to play a game in which points are awarded to those who predict the demise of yet another overhyped dot-com. — Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 14 Sept. 2000 This elegant little book is essential reading for anyone interested in the demise, the terminal silliness, of our culture. — John Irving, New York Times Book Review, 6 Apr. 1997 Like books, board games appear headed for imminent demise at the hands of cathode-ray terminals. — Will Manley, Booklist, 1 Mar. 1995 She had no property at the time of her demise. The musician met an untimely demise. We have not had truly local news coverage since the town newspaper's demise three years ago. Losing this game will mean the team's demise.

Verb

our much beloved, recently demised leader

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The demise of the Endurance aided greatly in cementing Shackleton's legend: When it was initially crushed by sea ice in February 1915, Shackleton and his crew stayed with the ship until November. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "Antarctic Expedition Hopeful of Finding Ernest Shackleton's Long-Lost Research Vessel," 4 Feb. 2019 The demise of the Soviet Union in 1991 prompted a surge of big international players into Russia, eager to take advantage of the massive privatization drive as the country tried to build a market economy. — Georgi Kantchev, WSJ, "Russian Lawyers Find Lucrative Niche Counseling Clients Hit by Sanctions," 15 Dec. 2018 Yet the demise of the Weekly Standard is not exactly a disastrous blow to American intellectual life. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "The Weekly Standard’s demise is a reminder that there are some ideas worse than Trumpism," 5 Dec. 2018 The spectacle of the president taking policy advice in the Oval Office from Kim Kardashian, a fellow star of reality TV, might convince Democrats that the demise of Western civilisation feared by Governor Brown is already here. — The Economist, "What’s left?To win back power, Democrats must do things that make them uncomfortable," 14 July 2018 Free-downloading sites and the demise of physical media ravaged the industry. — Carol Zhong And Bob Van Voris, latimes.com, "Tencent streaming spinoff to list shares in U.S. amid music industry comeback," 8 July 2018 The demise of the big man in the NBA has been greatly exaggerated. — Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, "Big men dominate opening picks of NBA draft, with Ayton, Bagley, Jackson, Bomba, Carter," 21 June 2018 With the demise of the Orlando Pro Summer League that previously preceded the larger Las Vegas league, the Heat opted this year to also travel to a new summer league hosted by the Sacramento Kings. — Ira Winderman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Heat to face Pelicans, Hornets, Jazz to open Vegas summer league," 12 June 2018 Meanwhile, the demise of the short-volatility trade is continuing apace in the passive space, with a negligible $2.1 million added to the strategy in May so far -- even as the bet is capturing speculators again. — Yakob Peterseil, Bloomberg.com, "Investors Bet on Fresh Stock Volatility Like It's August 2016," 18 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'demise.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

14 Feb 2019

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The first known use of demise was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for demise

demise

noun

English Language Learners Definition of demise

formal

: an end of life

: the end of something that is thought of as being like a death

See the full definition for demise in the English Language Learners Dictionary

demise

noun

de·mise | \ di-ˈmīz

Kids Definition of demise

1 : death sense 1 And often the court waited until the demise of two or three potters before searching out their replacements.— Linda Sue Park, A Single Shard

2 : an ending of existence or activity the demise of a newspaper