Die — Defs

01 v. i. To pass from an animate to a lifeless state; to cease to live; to suffer a total and irreparable loss of action of the vital functions; to …

imp. & p. p. Died; p. pr. & vb. n. Dying

1.
To pass from an animate to a lifeless state; to cease to live; to suffer a total and irreparable loss of action of the vital functions; to become dead; to expire; to perish; -- said of animals and vegetables; often with of, by, with, from, and rarely for, before the cause or occasion of death; as, to die of disease or hardships; to die by fire or the sword; to die with horror at the thought.
“To die by the roadside of grief and hunger.” — Macaulay.

“She will die from want of care.” — Tennyson.
2.
To suffer death; to lose life.
“In due time Christ died for the ungodly.” — Rom. v. 6.
3.
To perish in any manner; to cease; to become lost or extinct; to be extinguished.
“Letting the secret die within his own breast.” — Spectator.

“Great deeds can not die.” — Tennyson.
4.
To sink; to faint; to pine; to languish, with weakness, discouragement, love, etc.
“His heart died within, and he became as a stone.” — 1 Sam. xxv. 37.

“The young men acknowledged, in love letters, that they died for Rebecca.” — Tatler.
5.
To become indifferent; to cease to be subject; as, to die to pleasure or to sin.
6.
To recede and grow fainter; to become imperceptible; to vanish; -- often with out or away.
“Blemishes may die away and disappear amidst the brightness.” — Spectator.
7.
To disappear gradually in another surface, as where moldings are lost in a sloped or curved face.(Arch.)
8.
To become vapid, flat, or spiritless, as liquor.
““There is one certain way,” replied the Prince [William of Orange] “ by which I can be sure never to see my country's ruin, -- I will die in the last ditch.”” — Hume (Hist. of Eng. ).

Syn. To expire; decease; perish; depart; vanish.

02 n. A small cube, marked on its faces with spots from one to six, and used in playing games by being shaken in a box and thrown from it. See Dice.

pl. Dice, Dies ((dīs))

1.
A small cube, marked on its faces with spots from one to six, and used in playing games by being shaken in a box and thrown from it. See Dice. See: Dice
2.
Any small cubical or square body.
“Words . . . pasted upon little flat tablets or dies.” — Watts.
3.
That which is, or might be, determined, by a throw of the die; hazard; chance.
“Such is the die of war.” — Spenser.
4.
That part of a pedestal included between base and cornice; the dado.(Arch.)
5.
A metal or plate (often one of a pair) so cut or shaped as to give a certain desired form to, or impress any desired device on, an object or surface, by pressure or by a blow; used in forging metals, coining, striking up sheet metal, etc.(Mach.)

Phrases & compounds

Cutting die — a thin, deep steel frame, sharpened to a cutting edge, for cutting out articles from leather, cloth, paper, etc.

The die is cast — the hazard must be run; the step is taken, and it is too late to draw back; the last chance is taken.