death

death [deth]

n.

[ME deth < OE dēath, akin to OS dōth, OHG tōd, ON dauthi: see DEAD]

1. the act or fact of dying; permanent ending of all life in a person, animal, or plant

2. [D-] the personification of death, usually pictured as a skeleton in a black robe, holding a scythe

3. the state of being dead

4. any ending resembling dying; total destruction [the death of our hopes]

5. any condition or experience thought of as like dying or being dead

6. the cause of death [smoking will be the death of him]

7. murder or bloodshed

8. Obs. pestilence [the Black Death]

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at death's door

nearly dead

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be death on

to deal with in a devastating manner

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do to death

1. Archaic to kill

2. to use, perform, etc. so often that it becomes tiresome; overdo

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in at the death

1. present at the killing of the quarry by the hounds

2. present at the end or culmination

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put to death

to kill or cause to be killed; execute

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to death

to the extreme; very much [he worries me to death]

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to the death

1. to the very end (of a struggle, quarrel, etc.)

2. to the end of life; always

deathlike

adj.