Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - die

(dies, dying, died) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. When people, animals, and plants die, they stop living. A year later my dog died... Sadly, both he and my mother died of cancer... I would die a very happy person if I could stay in music my whole life... ...friends who died young. VERB: no passive, V, V of/from n, V n, V adj 2. If a person, animal, or plant is dying, they are so ill or so badly injured that they will not live very much longer. The elm trees are all dying... Every working day I treat people who are dying from lung diseases caused by smoking. ? recover VERB: only cont, V, V of/from n 3. If someone dies a violent, unnatural, or painful death, they die in a violent, unnatural, or painful way. He watched helplessly as his mother died an agonizing death... VERB: no passive, V n 4. If a machine or device dies, it stops completely, especially after a period of working more and more slowly or inefficiently. (WRITTEN) Then suddenly, the engine coughed, spluttered and died. VERB: V 5. You can say that you are dying of thirst, hunger, boredom, or curiosity to emphasize that you are very thirsty, hungry, bored, or curious. (INFORMAL) Order me a pot of tea, I’m dying of thirst. VERB: only cont, V of n c darkgreen]emphasis 6. You can say that you are dying for something or are dying to do something to emphasize that you very much want to have it or do it. (INFORMAL) I’m dying for a breath of fresh air... She was dying to talk to Frank. VERB: only cont, V for n, V to-inf c darkgreen]emphasis 7. You can use die in expressions such as ‘I almost died’ or ‘I’d die if anything happened’ where you are emphasizing your feelings about a situation, for example to say that it is very shocking, upsetting, embarrassing, or amusing. (INFORMAL, mainly SPOKEN) I nearly died when I learned where I was ending up... I nearly died of shame... I thought I’d die laughing. VERB: V, V of n, V -ing c darkgreen]emphasis 8. A die is a specially shaped or patterned block of metal which is used to press or cut other metal into a particular shape. N-COUNT 9. see also dying 10. You can say that the die is cast to draw attention to the importance of an event or decision which is going to affect your future and which cannot be changed or avoided. PHRASE: V inflects 11. If you say that habits or attitudes die hard, you mean that they take a very long time to disappear or change, so that it may not be possible to get rid of them completely. Old habits die hard... PHRASE: V inflects