TKG English Learner's Dictionary

die

dieverb

American /daɪ/ British /daɪ/ Die sounds the same as dye and rhymes with my.
third-person singular dies past tense died past participle died present participle dying
very commondefining vocabulary

To die is to come to an end: a living thing stops living, and a feeling, a sound, or a machine can stop too; be dying for uses the same idea to show a very strong wish.

  1. stop livingstop living

    intransitive [I] verb + preposition + object [V + prep + obj] verb + adjective [V + adj]

    Collocations

    verb + preposition die of something, die from something, die for something
    verb + adverb die suddenly, die peacefully
    phrase die young, die in an accident, die in your sleep

    Synonyms pass away (gentler and more polite)

    Antonyms live

    Compare kill

  2. stop existingslowly become weaker and then stop existing

    intransitive [I]

    Collocations

    adverb + verb slowly die, never die

  3. stop workingstop working

    Used of machines, engines, and batteries, often when they stop suddenly or run out of power.

    intransitive [I] informal

    Collocations

    noun + verb the battery dies, the engine dies, the phone dies

  4. want very muchwant something very much

    Used only in the continuous form be dying, followed by for and a noun or by a to-infinitive.

    intransitive [I] verb + preposition + object [V + prep + obj] verb + to-infinitive [V + to-inf] informal

    Collocations

    phrase be dying for something, be dying to do something

Phrases

to die for informal

very good, so that you want it very much

Used after a noun.

Word family

  • death
  • dead
  • dying

Usage

Die, dead, and death are easy to mix up: die is the verb (he died last year), dead is the adjective (he is dead), and death is the noun (after his death). Many people use gentler words, such as pass away, when they talk about someone they knew.

Common mistakes

He is died. He is dead.
Died is the past of the verb; to describe the state, use the adjective dead.
She died by cancer. She died of cancer.
An illness or a cause inside the body follows of or from, not by.
He was died in the war. He died in the war.
Die takes no object and is never passive.

See also pass away

For translators

Grammar trap die takes no object and is never passive: he died, not he was died. The state is the adjective dead: he is dead.
Cultural background When speaking to someone whose relative or friend has died, many English speakers choose gentler words, such as pass away or lose (I'm sorry you lost your father).