Etymology 1

From , < , from , from .

Verb

1. To stop living; to become dead; to undergo death.
   1. Followed by of. General use.
      • 1839, Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, Penguin 1985, p. 87:

        "What did she die of, Work'us?" said Noah. "Of a broken heart, some of our old nurses told me," replied Oliver.

      • 2000, Stephen King, On Writing, Pocket Books 2002, p. 85:

        In 1971 or 72, Mom's sister Carolyn Weimer died of breast cancer.

   2. Followed by from. General use, though somewhat more common in medical or scientific contexts.
      • 1865, British Medical Journal, 4 Mar 1865, p. 213:

        She lived several weeks; but afterwards she died from epilepsy, to which malady she had been previously subject.

      • 2007, Frank Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, Sandworms of Dune, Tor 2007, p. 191:

        "Or all of them will die from the plague. Even if most of the candidates succumb. . ."

   3. Followed by for. Often expressing wider contextual motivations, though sometimes indicating direct causes.
      • 1961, Joseph Heller, Catch-22, Simon & Schuster 1999, p. 232:

        Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America, Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia.

      • 2003, Tara Herivel & Paul Wright (Eds.), Prison Nation, Routledge 2003, p. 187:

        Less than three days later, Johnson lapsed into a coma in his jail cell and died for lack of insulin.

   4. Followed by with. Now rare as indicating direct cause.
      • 1600, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act III, Scene 1:

        Therefore let Benedicke like covered fire, / Consume away in sighes, waste inwardly: / It were a better death, to die with mockes, / Which is as bad as die with tickling.

      • 1830, Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon, Richards 1854, p. 337:

        And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year was very frequent in the land.

2. To be cut off from family or friends.

   The day our sister eloped, she died to our mother.

3. To become spiritually dead; to lose hope.

   He died a little inside each time she refused to speak to him.

4. To be mortified or shocked by a situation.

   If anyone sees me wearing this ridiculous outfit, I'll die.

5. to stop working, to break down.

   My car died in the middle of the freeway this morning.

Synonyms

bite the dust, buy the farm, check out, cross over, expire, succumb, give up the ghost, pass, pass away, pass on, be no more, cease to be, go to meet one's maker, be a stiff, push up the daisies, hop off the twig, kick the bucket, shuffle off this mortal coil, join the choir invisible

• See also Wikisaurus:die

Etymology 2

From < (Modern French ) < < , the past participle of < .

Noun

1. (plural: dice) A polyhedron, usually a cube, with numbers or symbols on each side and used in games of chance.
   • 1748. David Hume. Enquiry concerning the human understanding. In: Wikisource. Wikimedia: 2007. § 46.

     If a die were marked with one figure or number of spots on four sides, and with another figure or number of spots on the two remaining sides, it would be more probable, that the former would turn up than the latter ;

2. (plural: dies) The cubical part of a pedestal, a plinth.
3. (plural: dies) A device for cutting into a specified shape.
4. (plural: dies) A mold for forming metal or plastic objects.
5. (plural: dies) An embossed device used in stamping coins and medals.
6. (plural: dice or dies) A fragment of a completed integrated circuit wafer, among those produced by fracturing the wafer as specified in its design, that includes a portion that (unless defective) can provide the electronic function for which it was designed, but whose further mechanical subdivision would irreversibly impair that function.

Usage notes

Using the plural as a singular instead of is considered incorrect by most authorities, but has come into widespread use.