perished; perishing; perishes
1
: to become destroyed or ruined : cease to exist
recollection of a past already long since perished—
Philip Sherrard
Philip Sherrardguard against your mistakes or your attempts (perish the thought) to cheat—C. B. Davis
C. B. Davis2
chiefly British
: deteriorate, spoil
Synonyms
Examples of perish in a Sentence
Two people perished in the fire.
The sailors perished at sea.
The civilization perished after 500 years.
Many ancient languages have perished over time.
The rubber will perish with age.
Recent Examples on the Web
An additional five animals at a private animal sanctuary in Colorado — two tigers, one lion, a mountain lion and a fox — also perished from eating the food.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The thousands who have lost so much in the Los Angeles wildfires will soon wrestle with how to rebuild the lives that perished with their homes.
—Billy Witz, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Fire victims like Zaire Calvin of Altadena, whose sister Evelyn McClendon perished in a blaze that burned down their family home, shuddered to think of another blaze like the Eaton Fire igniting.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 15 Jan. 2025
Hallyday’s house, where his widow Laeticia lived with their two daughters, has now also perished in the fires.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 15 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for perish 
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Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
The thousands who have lost so much in the Los Angeles wildfires will soon wrestle with how to rebuild the lives that perished with their homes.
—Billy Witz, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Fire victims like Zaire Calvin of Altadena, whose sister Evelyn McClendon perished in a blaze that burned down their family home, shuddered to think of another blaze like the Eaton Fire igniting.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 15 Jan. 2025
Hallyday’s house, where his widow Laeticia lived with their two daughters, has now also perished in the fires.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 15 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for perish
Dictionary Entries Near perish
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perish. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perish
verb
per·ish
ˈper-ish 
: to pass away completely : become destroyed
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