die

DY/daɪ/

Verbdies, dying, died

Noun pluraldies, dice

23 meanings of die

Practice

1
perishverbintransitive
To stop living; to suffer death, whether from a cause ('die of cancer', 'die from wounds'), in a certain way or state ('die young', 'die a hero'), or for a cause.
Soldiers who die in battle are honored each year.
The old oak finally died after the long drought.
UsageThe -ing form is dying (not ~~incorrect: dieing~~); dyeing belongs to dye, colouring cloth or hair.
Similarperish, expire, succumb
Oppositelive, survive
Note
The spelling took a while to settle: Marlowe writes 'we may dye to day' in Tamburlaine the Great.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Historical spellings varied, and Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great contains 'we may dye to day'. en.wiktionary.org
The quoted line belongs to Marlowe's play. gutenberg.org
2
verbintransitive
Of a thing such as a language, custom, hope, or proposal, to come to an end or cease to exist.
If children stop learning them, minority languages can die within a generation or two.
The bill died in committee.
UsageUse die out when a custom or language disappears gradually.
Similarvanish, disappear, fade, perish
Oppositesurvive, thrive
Note
Here the subject is rarely a living thing. The Spectator of 1714 lets a secret 'die within his own breast,' Tennyson's Princess Ida insists that 'Great deeds cannot die,' and in Lord Dunsany's The Gods of Pegāna 'all echoes die' upon the River. Secrets, deeds, sounds, traditions and languages all die in this sense. It is a natural way to say that something passes out of existence.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
The Spectator quotation appeared in 1714. gutenberg.org
The Spectator contains the phrase 'die within his own breast' about a secret. gutenberg.org
Princess Ida speaks these words in Part III of Tennyson's The Princess; they should not be presented as the author's personal assertion. gutenberg.org
Lord Dunsany wrote The Gods of Pegāna, which says that 'all echoes die' upon the River. gutenberg.org
3
fail (machine)verbintransitive
Of a machine, device, battery, or computer program, to stop working or running, often suddenly.
The car's engine died at the intersection and wouldn't restart.
Cheap batteries die faster than people expect.
Similarfail, stall, quit
4
numbered cubenouncountable
A small object, usually a cube, with numbered or marked faces, thrown to produce a random result in games of chance.
The casino replaces each die regularly to prevent tampering.
A weighted die can be used to cheat at games of chance.
UsageThe plural is dice: roll two dice. In British English a dice is common for one as well.
Note
Spelling wandered for a long time, and David Hume's essay 'Of Probability' (1748) writes of a 'Dye' marked on four sides.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
David Hume wrote the essay 'Of Probability'. en.wikisource.org
The essay was first published in 1748. en.wikisource.org
Hume uses the historical spelling 'Dye' and describes four sides bearing the same marking. en.wikisource.org
5
lose a lifeverbslangintransitive
To lose a life or be eliminated from a video game, often shown with a deathlike animation.
If you die in the boss fight, you respawn back at the checkpoint.
She died three times before clearing the final stage.
UsagePlayers die on a level or an enemy: died on the boss.
Note
Gamer slang that treats a lost life as a death, usually with an animation to match. Coming Soon! magazine was already warning players in 1995 that 'you will die.'
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Coming Soon! magazine used 'you will die' in a 1995 video game review. en.wiktionary.org
6
stamping toolnouncountable
A tool or mold used to cut, press, stamp, or cast material such as metal or plastic into a particular shape or design, as in making coins.
The press forces sheet metal against the die to punch out each part.
Workers replaced the worn die that had been cutting the gaskets.
UsageThe plural is dies, not dice: cutting dies, stamping dies.
Similarmold, stamp

Less common meanings

7
want badlyverbfigurativelyintransitive
To yearn intensely for something, or to do something.
She was dying to tell someone the good news.
Honestly, I'd die for a decent cup of coffee in this town.
UsageMost often be dying for + noun or be dying to + verb: I'm dying to know.
Similarlong, yearn, itch, ache
Note
Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing still uses the plain form, 'dies for him,' of love.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing uses 'dies for him' about love; the speaker is Claudio, discussing Beatrice's supposed love for Benedick. shakespeare.mit.edu
8
overwhelmedverbfigurativelyintransitive
Informal: to be so overcome by laughter, embarrassment, or another strong feeling that one feels helpless, as in 'I nearly died laughing'.
The whole room died laughing at her impression of the boss.
Fans absolutely die when their favorite singer waves at them.
Note
Hyperbole that often comes with literally attached, which means its opposite here: 'I literally died when I saw that,' said a California anchorman in 1976. The overstatement is the point, and nobody takes it at face value.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
A California anchorman is credited with 'I literally died when I saw that' in a 1976 source. en.wiktionary.org
9
get no laughsverbslangintransitive
To fail to get any laughter from an audience, as a comedian or performer.
Like a firework that fizzles out instead of bursting into color.
The headliner died on stage, getting nothing but silence after every punchline.
Rookie comics expect to die on stage at least once.
UsageUsually die on stage or die onstage; a joke can die too.
Similarbomb, flop, tank
Oppositekill
10
computer chipnouncountable
A small block of semiconductor material cut from a wafer, functioning as an independent device or integrated circuit.
After fabrication, the wafer is sliced so each die can be packaged individually.
A single die may contain billions of transistors.
UsageBoth dies and dice are used for more than one; keep one form throughout a document.
Similarchip
Note
Chipmakers split on the plural. Hennessy and Patterson's Computer Architecture counts 'dies per wafer,' while Paul Gray's Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits has the wafer 'separated into individual dice by sawing or scribing and breaking.'
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson's Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach uses 'dies per wafer'. d1b10bmlvqabco.cloudfront.net
Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits, coauthored by Paul R. Gray, contains the quoted wording about separating a wafer into dice. picture.iczhiku.com
11
thread cutternouncountable
A tool for cutting an external screw thread onto a rod or pipe, unlike a tap, which cuts internal threads.
The machinist selected a die sized for a half-inch thread.
Running a die along the shaft produced a precise external thread.
12
verbintransitive
To sink, faint, pine, or languish, as from weakness, discouragement, or love.
Romantic heroines were forever dying of unrequited love.
When she read the letter saying he would never come back, she felt her heart die within her.
Similarlanguish, pine
Note
The languishing sense likes the word within. The King James Bible of 1611 says of Nabal that 'his heart died within him, and he became as a stone,' and Darby Slick's 'Somebody to Love' (1966), later a hit for Jefferson Airplane, sings of the moment 'all the joy within you dies.' The subject is often the heart or a feeling rather than the whole person. That marks it as an inner collapse.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikisource.org
The quoted words describe Nabal in the King James Bible. en.wikisource.org
Darby Slick wrote the song. en.wikipedia.org
The song was recorded in 1965 and first released in February 1966, as 'Someone to Love' by the Great Society. en.wikipedia.org
The song later became a hit for Jefferson Airplane. lcweb2.loc.gov
The song contains the quoted lyric. lcweb2.loc.gov
13
renounceverbintransitive
With 'to', to become as if dead to something or someone, no longer moved by it or no longer in contact, as in 'die to sin'.
Believers are urged to die to sin and live anew.
Over time he died to ambition and sought only peace.
14
nounarchaiccountable
Any small object shaped as a cube or square solid block.
Some young creatures have learnt their letters and syllables, and the pronouncing and spelling of words, by having them pasted or written upon many little flat tablets or dies.
1741, I[saac] Watts, The Improvement of the Mind
Similarcube, block
15
verbintransitive
Of liquor or other drink, to grow flat, stale, and lifeless.
16
noun
The cubical body of a pedestal, set between its base and cornice; a plinth.
17
adverb
Per day, as written in medical prescriptions and dosing instructions.
18
verbarchaic
To lose one's life because of something named after the word with, as in perishing with cold or hunger.
And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year was very frequent in the land.
1830, Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon
19
verb
To lose one's life from a cause named after to, used where from would be usual, as in died to his wounds.
20
verb
In architecture, of a molding or similar feature, to fade out gradually into a sloping or curved surface.
21
nounobsolete
Chance or fortune, or an outcome decided as if by rolling a die.
22
nounobsolete
An old way of spelling dye, a substance used to color cloth or hair.
He hath carried his friendship to this man to a blameable length, by too long concealing facts of the blackest die.
1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones
23
verbobsolete
An old way of spelling the verb dye, to change the color of something by soaking it.
To die wool with madder, prepare a fresh liquor, and when the water is come to a heat to bear the hand, put in half a pound of the finest grape madder for each pound of wool;
1813, James Haigh, The Dier's Assistant in the Art of Dying Wool and Woollen Goods

More uses

die downto become gradually weaker or quieter until it almost stops

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of die apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–3, 5, 7–9, 12–13, 15

From Middle English deyen, probably from Old Norse deyja, though inheritance from an Old English *dīeġan is also possible; both go back to Proto-Germanic *dawjaną ("to die"). It pushed aside the native Old English words sweltan (giving "swelt") and steorfan (giving modern "starve").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

Die comes from Middle English deyen. en.wiktionary.org
Middle English deyen probably comes from Old Norse deyja. en.wiktionary.org
Inheritance from a reconstructed Old English *dīeġan is also possible. en.wiktionary.org
The Old Norse and proposed Old English forms share the Proto-Germanic ancestor *dawjaną. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *dawjaną means 'to die'. en.wiktionary.org
Die displaced native Old English sweltan and steorfan, which gave English swelt and starve respectively. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 4, 6, 10–11, 14

English die comes through Middle English dee and Old French de (modern French dé), probably from Latin datum. Datum is a form of datus ("given"), which is the past participle of dō ("to give"), whose ancestry reaches Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ("to give"). Die and datum are probably doublets. Die took the place of Old English tasul or tesul ("die"), borrowed from Latin tessella, a diminutive formed from tessera ("die, cube").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts

English die comes through Middle English dee and Old French de, modern French dé, probably from Latin datum. en.wiktionary.org
Latin datum is a form of datus. en.wiktionary.org
Datus means given and is the past participle of dō, meaning to give. en.wiktionary.org
Latin dō descends from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃-, meaning to give. en.wiktionary.org
English die and datum are probably doublets. en.wiktionary.org
Die replaced Old English tasul or tesul, meaning die, borrowed from Latin tessella. en.wiktionary.org
Latin tessella is a diminutive of tessera, meaning die or cube. en.wiktionary.org