English
perish
Pronunciation
  • IPA: /ˈpɛɹɪʃ/
Verb

perish (perishes, present participle perishing; past and past participle perished)

  1. (intransitive) To decay and disappear; to waste away to nothing.
    • 1881, Tarafa, translated by W. A. Clouston, The Poem of Tarafa
      I consider time as a treasure decreasing every night; and that which every day diminishes soon perishes for ever.
  2. (intransitive) To decay in such a way that it can't be used for its original purpose
    • 2015, Christopher Cumo, Foods that Changed History
      The difficulty is that fresh foods perish due to the multiplication in them of harmful bacteria.
  3. (intransitive) To die; to cease to live.
    • 1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
      ...the ship struck upon a sand, and ... the sea broke over her in such a manner that we expected we should all have perished immediately; and we were immediately driven into our close quarters, to shelter us from the very foam and spray of the sea.
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To cause to perish.
    • 1898, William Pett Ridge, By Order of the Magistrate, page 209:
      "Leggo my shou'der, I tell you! Leggo!" He struggled with her, and the customers came forward. "Chrise! I'll perish you, if you ain't careful!" He turned suddenly,...
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