: 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
Recent Examples on the Web
Brenda Goodman, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025
The version, known as D1.1, is circulating in wild birds around the nation — causing massive die-offs in places such as Chicago, upstate New York and Ohio.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 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
See all Example Sentences for die-off 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Dairy farmers with infected herds reported large die-offs of wild birds near their farms before their cows got sick, according to the USDA.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 8 Feb. 2025
The version, known as D1.1, is circulating in wild birds around the nation — causing massive die-offs in places such as Chicago, upstate New York and Ohio.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 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 11 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share