suicide

noun

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sui·cide | \ ˈsü-ə-ˌsīd

Definition of suicide

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally

b : ruin of one's own interests political suicide

c : apoptosis cell suicide

2 : one that commits or attempts suicide

suicide

adjective

Definition of suicide (Entry 2 of 3)

: of or relating to suicide especially : being or performing a deliberate act resulting in the voluntary death of the person who does it a suicide mission a suicide bomber

suicide

verb

suicided; suiciding

Definition of suicide (Entry 3 of 3)

intransitive verb

: to commit suicide

transitive verb

: to put (oneself) to death

Synonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing suicide Learn More About suicide

Examples of suicide in a Sentence

Noun She had thoughts of suicide. Authorities have officially ruled the death a suicide. There were two suicides last year at the university.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Lightfoot made the comments after aldermen approved an ordinance Wednesday providing a death benefit to spouses of first responders who die by suicide. — Gregory Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 23 June 2022 When Chloe dies, apparently by suicide, Becky begins to pursue her obsession more actively. — Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, 22 June 2022 This iconic Alfred Hitchcock film follows a former San Francisco police detective (James Stewart), who is brought on a case to prevent his friend’s wife from dying by suicide. — Lizz Schumer, Good Housekeeping, 22 June 2022 Many attackers died by suicide before the police arrived. — New York Times, 22 June 2022 In 2017—the same year that Kim Jonghyun, a singer in the K-pop group SHINee, died by suicide—BTS launched a campaign with UNICEF to combat violence against children and teens. — E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 21 June 2022 The two officers were pronounced dead at a local Los Angeles area hospital, while Flores died by suicide after turning the gun on himself, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's office. — Fox News, 19 June 2022 Police, firefighters die by suicide more often than in line of duty. — Christine Fernando, USA TODAY, 18 June 2022 Bill Trappett said his brother had tried multiple times throughout his life to die by suicide. — Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 17 June 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective During the first six months of the year, nearly half of civilian casualties from non-suicide IEDs directed against civilians came from the May 8 attack on the Sayed ul-Shuhada high school in a Kabul neighborhood mainly inhabited by Hazaras. — Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes, 3 June 2022 In the five years prior, non-suicide gun deaths fluctuated between roughly 12,000 and 15,500 deaths annually. — Erin Schumaker, ABC News, 24 Mar. 2021 There were 99 shootings -- more than triple the amount from the previous July — and the city has tallied 366 non-suicide shootings this year compared to 388 in all of 2019. — The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Aug. 2020 There were 99 shootings -- more than triple the amount from the previous July — and the city has tallied 366 non-suicide shootings this year compared to 388 in all of 2019. — Gillian Flaccus And Suman Naishadham, Star Tribune, 9 Aug. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb That translates to 6 million Americans every year directly impacted by the loss of a life to suicide. — Sharon L'herrou, Sun Sentinel, 12 May 2022 In 2019, the USS George HW Bush lost four shipmates to suicide during its years-long overhaul in Norfolk, Virginia. — Eleanor Watson, CBS News, 3 May 2022 Holmes’s former employees have described a culture of isolation, retaliation and fear, which allegedly drove at least one core staffer to suicide. — Emma Dibdin, Town & Country, 10 Mar. 2022 Several pivotal moments in life will be included, including the loss of his son, Tommy, to suicide on Dec. 31, 2020. — Addie Morfoot, Variety, 14 Jan. 2022 The following year, O’Connor posted a concerning video on social media that alluded to suicide. — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2022 Members of the Florida law enforcement community are grieving after losing two of their own to suicide within days of each other, leaving behind 1-month-old son. — Fox News, 7 Jan. 2022 This is a pretty awful notion to consider—suicide as the last best hope for virtue. — Eleanor Cummins, The New Republic, 28 Dec. 2021 The hearing concluded with a tense display, with Blackburn pressing Mosseri to speak to parents who had lost children to suicide or self-harm. — Cat Zakrzewski, Cristiano Lima, Will Oremus, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Dec. 2021 See More

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