Longman Dictionary English

Explore Death Topic
Word family noun dead death deadliness adjective dead deadly deathly verb deaden adverb deadly deathly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Related topics: Death
deathdeath /deθ/ ●●● S1 W1 noun 1 DIE a) [uncountable] the end of the life of a person or animaldeath of The death of his mother came as a tremendous shock. Cancer is the leading cause of death in women. How Danielle met her death (=died) will probably never be known. His friend was close to death. His family are still mourning John’s tragic death. the anniversary of Lenin’s deathbleed/burn/starve etc to death a homeless man who froze to deathbeat/stab/shoot etc somebody to death The 76-year-old pensioner was beaten to death.put/sentence/condemn somebody to death (=kill someone or decide they should be killed as an official punishment) Legend has it that Sarah was put to death for practising witchcraft. Members of the family have received death threats. He remained president until his untimely death (=death at a surprisingly young age). Two of the passengers managed to escape death (=avoid being killed). b) [countable]DIE a particular case when someone dies OPP birth a campaign to reduce the number of traffic deathsdeath from deaths from cancer I heard there’d been a death in the family.2 → the death of something3 → to death4 → do something to death5 → to the death6 → Death7 → be at death’s door8 → look/feel like death warmed up9 → you’ll catch your death (of cold)10 → somebody will be the death of me → Black Death, the, → kiss of death at kiss2(3), → life and death at life(10)COLLOCATIONSverbscause deathWe still don't know what caused his death.lead to/result in deathAny delay in calling an ambulance may have resulted in her death.bleed/freeze/burn/starve to deathThousands of people are starving to death.stab/beat/kick somebody to deathHe was stabbed to death in an attack outside his home.sentence/condemn somebody to death (=decide someone must die as an official punishment)Two men were sentenced to death for the killings.be put to death (=be killed as a punishment for something you have done)The rebels were defeated and their leaders put to death.escape death (=avoid being killed)He fell while climbing in the mountains, and only narrowly escaped death.meet your death formal (=die)He met his death tragically while on holiday in Greece.mourn somebody's death (=feel very sad after someone has died)The entertainment world was last night mourning the actor's death.adjectivessudden deathHer sudden death shocked the world.tragic deathHer family are trying to come to terms with Anna's tragic death.early death (=at a young age)Paul's first marriage ended with the early death of his wife.untimely death formal (=at a young age)He remained president until his untimely death in 2004.premature death technical (=earlier than people usually die)The disease is a significant cause of premature death in the developing world.accidental death (=caused by accident, not deliberately)The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.violent death (=caused by violence, especially deliberately)There is a high rate of violent death in America.certain death (=definitely going to happen)Many of the prisoners faced certain death.death + NOUNthe death penalty (=the legal punishment of death)In the west, most countries have abolished the death penalty.the death sentence (=the legal punishment of death)Because of his young age, the judge decided not to impose the death sentence.the death rate (=the number of people who die each year from something)The death rate from heart attacks is about 50% higher for smokers.the death toll (=the number of people who die in an accident)Officials fear the death toll could be as high as 3000.a death threat (=a threat to kill someone deliberately)The writer had received a number of death threats.phrasesthe cause of deathThe cause of death was a bullet in his chest.a sentence of death (=the official punishment of death for a crime)There were strong protests against the sentence of death.
Examples from the Corpus
death• The policy provides full insurance in the case of accidental death.• Maretti lived in Miami until his death.• The news of his impending death had badly ruffled his composure.• The latest death toll in the Turkish earthquake is over 2000.• Though infected lions can meet a miserable death, Packer reports that 60 percent of those with distemper have survived.• The number of deaths from AIDS is still increasing in many parts of the world.• The other 5 percent of deaths were caused by various weapons and methods, including burning.• The bomb caused at least one death, and several serious injuries.• Catherine will inherit a large sum of money on her father's death.• After her husband's death, she moved back to California.• No, the people who had ordered Jay's death - they were the ones who had to be punished.• Such deaths are normal consequences of Western contact with previously isolated tribes.• The Smithsonian label was shaken by the death of Rinzler last year at the age of 59.• A comet appeared at the time of the death of Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.• Perhaps, thought Robert, I should sentence him to death.• Authorities counted 50 traffic deaths over the holiday weekend.• Basquiat's work had become well known even before his untimely death at age 27.cause of death• Now doctors can simply include smoking as a cause of death on certificates.• Sphincterotomy is sometimes performed to facilitate biliary stenting, and consequent haemorrhage may occasionally be a cause of death.• Diabetes causes 178,000 deaths annually in the United States; it is the fourth-leading cause of death.• She noted that although fewer teenagers were licensed, vehicle accidents remained a leading cause of death for teenagers.• Life expectancy for all patients is middle age, and heart failure is the leading cause of death.• In none of those cases was pepper spray determined to be the cause of death.• More important are questions concerning the accuracy of the identification of the cause of death, especially for older people.• The cause of death is asphyxia, and one expects to find the usual signs of this.DeathDeathDIEa creature that looks like a human skeleton, used in paintings, stories etc to represent the fact that people die → deathOrigin death Old English
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