1(of a person, animal, or plant) stop living:he died of AIDStrees are dying from acid rain [with object]:the king died a violent death
(die out) become extinct:many species died out
be forgotten:her genius has assured her name will never die
[with adverbial] become less loud or strong:after a while, the noise died downat last the storm died away
(die back) (of a plant) decay from the tip toward the root:rhubarb dies back to a crown of buds each winter
(die off) die one after another until few or none are left:the original founders died off or retired
(of a fire or light) stop burning or gleaming:the fire had died and the room was cold
informal (of a machine) stop functioning or run out of electric charge:three toasters have died on meI was halfway through a text message when the phone died
2 informal be very eager for something:they must be dying for a drink [with infinitive]:he’s dying to meet you
used to emphasize how strongly one is affected by a particular feeling or emotion:only the thought of Matilda prevented him from dying of boredomwe nearly died laughing when he told us
3 archaic have an orgasm.
die a (or the) death
British informal come to an end; cease or fail to be popular or successful:the craze for cycling shorts is dying a death
die hard
disappear or change very slowly:old habits die hard