List of expressions related to death


This is a list of words and phrases related to death in alphabetical order. While some of them are slang, others euphemize the unpleasantness of the subject, or are used in formal contexts. Some of the phrases may carry the meaning of 'kill', or simply contain words related to death. Most of them are idioms.
ExpressionDefinitionContextRemarks
reset characterTo dieEuphemistic slang
On the wrong side of the grassDeadEuphemistic slang
Get smokedTo be killedSlang
At peaceDeadEuphemistic
At restDeadPolite
Augered inDied via aircraft crashSlangAs documented in The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Belly upDeadInformalThe orientation of fish when dead
Beyond the graveAfter deathNeutralIn reference to communication with the dead
Beyond the veilThe mysterious place after deathNeutralOriginally used to refer to the 'veil' that hides the innermost sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem. Sometimes refers to just a mysterious place.
Big sleepTo die or be killedEuphemistic
Bite the dustTo die or be killedInformalAlso means 'failed'
Bite the big oneTo dieInformalNorth American.
Born asleepStillbirthNeutral
Breathe one's lastTo dieLiterary
Brown breadDeadSlangCockney rhyming slang for 'dead'.
Bought the farmDiedSlangAlso, shortened to 'bought it'
Bucket listList of things to do before dyingPopular culture derivationDerived from the older phrase "kick the bucket"; popularized by the 2007 film The Bucket List
Cargo 200Corpses of soldiersMilitary code word used in the Soviet Union and the post-Soviet states referring to the transportation of military casualtiesMilitary slang
Cark-itTo dieInformal, another version of 'croaked it'; common in UK, Ireland, Australia & New ZealandThe guy was running, had a heart attack and carked it.
Cash in one's chipsTo dieInformal, euphemisticRedemption for cash of gambling counters at the end of a game
CandymanSupernatural suicideTV/MovieSay 'Candyman' 5 times while looking in a mirror, and the Candyman appears and kills you with his hooked right hand.
CharonFerryman of HadesNeutralCrosses the rivers Styx and Acheron which divide the world of the living from the world of the dead
Check outTo dieEuphemism
Come to a sticky endTo die in a way that is considered unpleasantHumorousBritish. Also 'to meet a sticky end'.
Counting wormsDeadEuphemistic
CroakTo dieSlang
Crossed the JordanDiedBiblical/RevivalistThe deceased has entered the Promised Land
CurtainsDeathTheatricalThe final curtain at a dramatic performance
Dead as a dodoDeadInformalThe 'dodo', flightless bird from the island of Mauritius hunted to extinction
Dead as a doornailObviously deadInformalCharles Dickens used this phrase at the beginning of A Christmas Carol.
Death by misadventureAvoidable deathFormal/legalDeath resulting from risk-taking
DecapitationThe act of killing by removing a person's head, usually with an axe or other bladed instrumentA much-favoured method of execution used around the world. Notable examples include the French Revolution via guillotine, and the Tudor times using an axe.
DeletedMurderedLiterary
DefenestrationThe act of killing by throwing a person out of a window
DepartedTo dieNeutral
DestroyedTo dieNeutralUsually refers to the euthanization of an animal
Die with one's boots onTo die while able, or during activity, as opposed to in infirmity or while asleep.EuphemisticOld West usage: To die in a gunfight, as with the film They Died with Their Boots On. Also connotes dying in combat. British; cf. Iron Maiden's Die With Your Boots On.

Didn't make itKilled in action Euphemistic
Done forAbout to dieNeutral
Drop deadDie suddenlyNeutralalso slang aggressive dismissal
Dropping like fliesDying in drovesSimilealso falling ill in numbers
Drop the BodyDiedEuphemisticUsed by new-age spiritually minded people instead of the term died, suggesting that, while the person's body died, his or her spirit lives on
ErasedMurderedLiterary
EuthanasiaAssisted suicideFormal
ExpireNatural endNeutral
ExterminateKillDirectiveExclaimed by Daleks when ordered to kill
ExtinctWhen a species as a whole ceases to existFormal
Fading awayTo be weakening and close to deathNeutralAlso to be 'fading fast'
Fall off one's perchTo dieInformal
Food for wormsSomeone who is deadSlangAlso 'worm food'
FratricideMurder among siblingsFormal
Free one's horsesTo dieNeutral
Game endTo killInformal
GenocideTo completely exterminate all of a kindFormal
Give up the ghostTo dieNeutralThe soul leaving the body
Glue factoryTo dieNeutralUsually refers to the death of a horse
Gone to a better placeTo dieEuphemisticHeaven
Go over the Big RidgeTo dieUnknown
Go bungTo dieInformalAustralian. Also means 'to fail' or 'to go bankrupt'.
Go for a BurtonTo die/break irreparablyInformalBritish, from WWII.
Go to Davy Jones's lockerTo drown or otherwise die at seaEuphemisticPeregrine Pickle describes Davy Jones as 'the fiend that presides over all the evil sprits of the deep'.
Go to the big in the skyTo die and go to heavenInformalA place in the afterlife paralleling the deceased's life, such as "Big ranch in the sky".
Go home in a boxTo be shipped to one's birthplace, deadSlang, euphemistic
Go out with one's boots on/with a bang/in styleTo die while doing something enjoyedInformal
Go to, or head for, the last roundupTo dieEuphemisticAssociated with dying cowboys, along with "Going to that big ranch in the sky."
Go to one's rewardTo dieEuphemisticFinal reckoning, just deserts after death
Go to one's watery graveTo die of drowningLiterary
Go to a Texas cakewalkTo be hangedUnknown
Go the way of all fleshTo dieNeutral
Go westTo be killed or lostInformalRefers to the sun setting at the west.
The Grim ReaperPersonification of deathCulturalA skeleton with a scythe, often in a cloak
Hand in one's dinner pailTo dieInformalNo longer required at workmen's canteen
Happy hunting groundDeadInformalUsed to describe the afterlife according to Native Americans
Hara-kiri suicide by disembowelmentJapaneseSee Seppuku. Often misspelt as Hari-kari.
Have one foot in the graveTo be close to death because of illness or ageInformal, sometimes humorous
HistoryDeadInformalUsually interpreted as "to be history."
Hop on the last rattlerTo dieEuphemistic"Rattler" is a slang expression for a freight train.
Hop the twigTo dieInformalAlso 'to hop the stick'. Pagan belief that to jump a stick on the ground leads to the Afterworld.
In Abraham's bosomIn heavenNeutralFrom the Holy Bible,.
Join the choir invisibleTo dieNeutralFrom an 1867 poem by George Eliot
Join the great majorityTo dieEuphemisticFirst used by Edward Young, but the phrase 'the majority' is extremely old.
Justifiable homicideHomicideFormalMurder of lesser culpability attracting a lighter penalty
Kick the bucketTo dieInformalIn suicidal hanging. Also 'kick off'.
Kick the calendarTo dieSlang, informalPolish saying. 'Calendar' implies somebody's time of death
Killed In Action Death of military personnel due to enemy actionMilitary language, official and informal use
King of TerrorsPersonification of deathNeutralOf Biblical origin, found in Also refers to death itself
Kiss one's arse goodbyePrepare to dieSlang
Live on a farm To dieEuphemismUsually referring to the death of a pet, especially if the owners are parents with children, i.e. "The dog went to live on a farm."
Lose one's lifeTo die in an accident or violent eventNeutral
Make the ultimate sacrificeTo die while fighting for a causeFormalAlso 'make the supreme sacrifice'
MatricideMother murderedFormal
Meet one's makerTo dieEuphemisticAccording to Christian belief, soul meets God for final judgment
Murder Death Kill HomicideTV/MovieFrom 1993 film Demolition Man
NeutralisedTo be killedby the order of a criminal mastermind - “the threat has been neutralised”
NightThe state of deathEuphemismFrom the poem by Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night."
Not long for this worldWill die soon; have little time left to liveOld-fashioned
Not with us any moreDeadEuphemistic
Off on a boatTo dieEuphemisticViking
Off the hooksDeadInformalBritish. Not to be confused with 'off the hook'.
On one's deathbedDyingNeutral
On one's last legsAbout to dieInformal
One's hour has comeAbout to dieLiterary
One's number is upOne is going to dieSlang
Pass awayTo dieEuphemism; politeAlso 'to pass on'
Pass in one's alleyTo dieInformalAustralian
PatricideMurders fatherFormal
Pay the ultimate priceTo die for a cause or principleNeutralSimilar to "To make the ultimate sacrifice"
Peg outTo dieSlangBritish. Also means 'to stop working'
PerishSynonym for death
Pop one's clogsTo dieHumorous, InformalBritish. "Pop" is English slang for "pawn." A 19th-century working man might tell his family to take his clothes to the pawn shop to pay for his funeral, with his clogs among the most valuable items.
Promoted to GloryDeath of a SalvationistFormalSalvation Army terminology.
Pull the plugTo kill, or allow to dieEuphemismRemoval of life support, such as turning off the power, or "pull the plug" on a ventilator keeping someone alive.
Push up daisiesTo have died and be under the groundHumorous, EuphemisticEarly 20th century. Also 'under the daisies' and 'turn one's toes up to the daisies', which date back to the mid-19th century. See 'to turn up one's toes' below.
Put down/put to sleepTo be euthanisedEuphemismEuthanasia of an animal
Put one to the swordTo kill someoneLiterary
Rainbow BridgeDeadEuphemismUsually referring to the death of a pet, e.g. "Crossing the Rainbow Bridge."
Ride the pale horseTo dieEuphemisticIn the Biblical passage, a pale horse is ridden by Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The expression "behold a pale horse" has been used as the title of a 1964 film by Fred Zinnemann and a 1991 book by ufologist William Milton Cooper.
Run one throughTo kill someone, usually by stabbingEuphemism
Send one to Eternity or to the Promised LandTo kill someoneLiterary
Go/send to BelizeTo die/to kill somebodyEuphemismFrom Season 5 of the television series Breaking Bad
Send to the farmTo dieEuphemismUsually referring to the death of a pet, especially if the owners are parents of young children e.g. "The dog was sent to a farm."
ShadeThe state of deathEuphemismFrom the poem "Invictus," by William Ernest Henley: "Beyond this place of wrath and tears, Looms but the horror of the shade."
Shuffle off this mortal coilTo dieHumorous, Literaryfrom the To be, or not to be soliloquy from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Six feet underDeadInformalSix feet is the traditional depth of a grave
Sleeping with the fishesMurdered, then disposed of in water.SlangPopularized by The Godfather
Snuffed outMurderedLiteraryAs in extinguishing a candle, or simply "snuff it"
Step offTo dieInformal, euphemisticCharacter Ron Birdwell in the movie The Late Show : "I'm always sorry to hear any of God's creatures stepping off."
Struck downTo be killed by an illnessNeutralUsually passive
SuicideTo take one's own lifeFormal
SunsetDeadFormal
Swim with concrete shoesGangster murderSlang
Take a dirt napTo die and be buriedSlang
Take a last bowTo dieSlang
Take one's own lifeTo commit suicideEuphemism
Take the last train to gloryTo dieEuphemismUplifting Christian take on destination heaven
Tango Uniform Dead, irreversibly brokenMilitary slangThis is "T.U." in the ICAO spelling alphabet, an abbreviation for Tits Up
Terminate; especially, terminate with extreme prejudiceTo kill; especially when carrying out an assassination as part of a covert operation.Euphemism; military slangOriginated during the Vietnam War; later popularized by the films Apocalypse Now and The Terminator
Toaster BathCommit suicide via a toaster in a bathtubSlang
Top yourselfCommit suicideSlang
Turn up one's toesTo dieSlangAn alternative of 'turn one's toes up to the daisies'
Up and dieUnexpected death, leaving loose endsEuphemistic
Wearing a pine overcoat DeadSlangIdiom used by American gangsters of the early 20th century.
Wiped out...way up..Dead, usually if multiple individuals dieNeutral
Worm food or worm baitDeadSlang
To join the whisperersTo dieEuphemismFrom the television series Lost: the Whispers were voices of those who died, yet were unable to move on and therefore remained on the island as whispers