: 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
James Ward, USA TODAY, 13 July 2024
The cactuses had endured hurricanes before, but the rush of seawater from that Category 5 storm accelerated the die-off.
—Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, 13 July 2024
Mia Amor Mottley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Apr. 2023
Ultimately, these giants died off quite suddenly along with many other groups of dinosaurs, for reasons that remain unclear to paleontologists.
—Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 18 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for die-off 
Noun
California officials closed a lake to visitors and campers this week after a massive fish die-off was first noticed during the July Fourth holiday weekend.
—James Ward, USA TODAY, 13 July 2024
The cactuses had endured hurricanes before, but the rush of seawater from that Category 5 storm accelerated the die-off.
—Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, 13 July 2024
Verb
And billions of others across Africa, Asia, and Latin America watch helplessly as livestock die off, food prices soar, and currencies spiral.
—Mia Amor Mottley, Foreign Affairs, 7 Apr. 2023
Ultimately, these giants died off quite suddenly along with many other groups of dinosaurs, for reasons that remain unclear to paleontologists.
—Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 18 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for die-off
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'die-off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Die-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/die-off. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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