: a sudden sharp decline of a population of animals or plants that is not caused directly by human activity
died off; dying off; dies off
: to die sequentially either singly or in numbers so that the total number is greatly diminished
Examples of die-off in a Sentence
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Diana Kruzman, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025
Marine-life experts say the toxic runoff can have both acute, immediate impacts on the fish and other aquatic life living in the bay, along with long-term impacts like widespread die-offs.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2025
Christopher Hastings, Bon Appétit, 13 Jan. 2025
Even though Friday is a Red Flag Warning day in the county, winds are predicted to die off by mid-morning, well down from the 100 mph gusts experienced earlier this week.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Jan. 2025
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Noun
And certain classes of chemicals work by getting rid of the algae’s food—but if too many nutrients are absorbed, useful algae and bacteria won’t be able to grow, causing a massive die-off.
—Diana Kruzman, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2025
Marine-life experts say the toxic runoff can have both acute, immediate impacts on the fish and other aquatic life living in the bay, along with long-term impacts like widespread die-offs.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2025
Verb
Too bad my backyard garden beds died off three frosts ago.
—Christopher Hastings, Bon Appétit, 13 Jan. 2025
Even though Friday is a Red Flag Warning day in the county, winds are predicted to die off by mid-morning, well down from the 100 mph gusts experienced earlier this week.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for die-off
Dictionary Entries Near die-off
Cite this Entry
“Die-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/die-off. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.
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