From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdeath sentenceˈdeath ˌsentence noun [countable] 1 SCLthe official punishment of death, ordered by a judge He received a death sentence. Premeditated murder carries (=is punished by) the death sentence.2 something such as an illness that makes you sure you will die Cancer is no longer a death sentence.3 an action or decision that is very harmful to someone or something In 1987, the government passed a death sentence on the river by granting permission for the new dam.
Examples from the Corpus
death sentence• A golf course will be a death sentence to the local ecosystem.• Gilmore received a death sentence.• There was a time when it was 15 years from the time a death sentence was first issued.• How do we work out the fact that a firing from one job can become an employment death sentence?• He faces a possible death sentence.• The recent death sentence on a high-ranking official is cited as evidence that corruption is at last being taken seriously.• Federal courts would be empowered to impose the death sentence for 51 crimes.passed ... death sentence on• She felt suddenly, confusedly, a little like a man who had voluntarily passed a death sentence on himself. 