What does "die" mean?

1. (to stop living) to stop living; to have your life end. 2. (to stop working) to stop functioning or run out of power, like a battery or an engine. 3. (to want something very much) to want something so much that you feel you cannot wait. 4. (to laugh or be embarrassed) to feel a very strong emotion, like laughing a lot or feeling very ashamed. 5. (a gaming cube) a small cube with dots on each side used in games of chance. 6. (an industrial tool) a metal tool used to cut or shape materials into a specific form.

How do you use "die"?

Usually used in the continuous form: 'dying for' or 'dying to'. This is the singular form; 'dice' is the plural, though 'dice' is now often used for the singular as well.

die — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "His grandfather is died last year."?

No — say "His grandfather died last year.". Do not use 'is' with 'died'. 'Died' is the past tense of the verb, while 'dead' is the adjective used with 'is'.

Word

01to stop living

A1 · Beginner

v. to stop living; to have your life end.

v. to undergo the permanent cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism.

“The old king died peacefully in his sleep at the age of ninety.”

“The botanist explained that the rare orchids would likely die if the greenhouse temperature dropped below fifteen degrees for more than an hour.”

Pitfall

His grandfather is died last year.

His grandfather died last year.

Do not use 'is' with 'died'. 'Died' is the past tense of the verb, while 'dead' is the adjective used with 'is'.

Synonyms

perish pass away

Antonyms

livebe born

02to stop working

A2 · Elementary Informal

v. to stop functioning or run out of power, like a battery or an engine.

v. to cease operating or functioning, typically due to a lack of power or a mechanical failure.

“My phone died right when I was trying to call for a taxi.”

“The engine sputtered and died in the middle of the intersection, leaving the driver stranded in heavy traffic.”

Synonyms

fail break down conk out

Antonyms

start

03to want something very much

B1 · Intermediate Informal

v. to want something so much that you feel you cannot wait.

v. to experience an intense or overwhelming desire for something; usually used in the progressive form.

“It is so hot outside that I am dying for a cold glass of water.”

“After three months of rigorous field research in the desert, the team was dying to return to the comforts of the city.”

Usage

Usually used in the continuous form: 'dying for' or 'dying to'.

Synonyms

yearnlong for

04to laugh or be embarrassed

B2 · Upper Intermediate Informal · Humorous

v. to feel a very strong emotion, like laughing a lot or feeling very ashamed.

v. to be overcome by an extreme emotional state, such as laughter, embarrassment, or shock.

“I almost died of embarrassment when I realized my shirt was inside out.”

“The comedian's delivery was so perfect that the entire audience was dying with laughter by the end of the first act.”

05a gaming cube

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun

n. a small cube with dots on each side used in games of chance.

n. a small, throwable object with multiple marked sides used for generating random numbers in games.

“Roll the die to see how many spaces you can move your piece.”

“The player reached for the lone die, needing a six to win the game on this final turn.”

Usage

This is the singular form; 'dice' is the plural, though 'dice' is now often used for the singular as well.

Teaching tip

Traditional grammar requires 'one die, two dice', but modern informal English frequently uses 'dice' for both singular and plural.

Synonyms

dice

06an industrial tool

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Technology Technical

n. a metal tool used to cut or shape materials into a specific form.

n. a specialized tool used in manufacturing to cut, shape, or stamp materials, especially metal.

“The factory uses a special die to stamp the company logo onto the coins.”

“The precision of the finished component depends entirely on the quality of the steel die used during the casting process.”

Synonyms

mold stamp

“Suppose I roll a 6-sided die just once, and it comes up with a ‘5.’ Is it fair, or not?”

Ars Technica 29 May 2025

“Futility notwithstanding, the d120 is billed as the “ultimate fair die allowed by Mother Nature (i.e., mathematics!),” since a die couldn’t, practically speaking, possess more sides or more symmetry, and dice must be symmetrical to be fair.”

The New Yorker 26 Apr 2016

“Vegetarian and paleo diets can be accommodated by rolling the veg or meat die twice.”

WIRED 9 Oct 2013

From Middle English deyen, probably from Old Norse deyja, from Proto-Germanic dawjaną ("to die"). The Norse import displaced two native Old English verbs: sweltan, which survives in Modern English swelt, and steorfan, which narrowed to mean "starve".

From Middle English dee, from Old French de (Modern French dé), from Latin datum, from datus (“given”), the past participle of dō (“to give”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to lay out, to spread out”). Doublet of datum. Replaced Old English tasul, tesul (“die”), from Latin tessella (“die, cube”).