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
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
But without medical care, patients can perish quickly.
—Marc Silver, NPR, 23 Dec. 2025
Six figure skaters associated with the Skating Club of Boston perished in the crash, including Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, two coaches, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, and Jin Han, the mother of Jinna, and Christine Lane, the mother of Spencer.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 22 Dec. 2025
Like the rest of the analog world, legacy dictionaries have had to adapt or perish.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
There were no survivors when the ore carrier perished in a tremendous storm and plunged 535 feet to the lake bottom.
—CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
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Marc Silver, NPR, 23 Dec. 2025
Six figure skaters associated with the Skating Club of Boston perished in the crash, including Jinna Han and Spencer Lane, two coaches, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, and Jin Han, the mother of Jinna, and Christine Lane, the mother of Spencer.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 22 Dec. 2025
Like the rest of the analog world, legacy dictionaries have had to adapt or perish.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
There were no survivors when the ore carrier perished in a tremendous storm and plunged 535 feet to the lake bottom.
—CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perish. Accessed 31 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perish
verb
per·ish
ˈper-ish 
: to pass away completely : become destroyed
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