Death is a universal experience, yet it’s one of the hardest topics to talk about. Across cultures and languages, people have created idioms (colorful expressions) to soften, poeticize, or contextualize the concept of passing away. These phrases carry deep emotional weight, often reflecting how we cope, honor, or make sense of loss.
In this post, I’ve gathered 52 unique idioms for death, each with its meaning, an example sentence, and alternative ways to express it. My hope is that by exploring these phrases, you’ll find a new appreciation for the ways language helps us navigate grief and remembrance.
Whether you’re a language lover, a writer, or someone reflecting on life’s big questions, these idioms offer a window into the human experience. At the end, you’ll also find an interactive quiz to test your knowledge of these expressions; perfect for learners or anyone curious about language!
52 Idioms for Death
1. Kick the Bucket
Meaning: To die, often used in a casual or slightly humorous way.
Example Sentence: After a long, happy life, old Mr. Jenkins finally kicked the bucket last week.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass away, meet one’s maker, bite the dust.
2. Bite the Dust
Meaning: To die, especially suddenly or violently, often associated with defeat.
Example Sentence: The cowboy bit the dust after a fierce duel in the desert.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Fall in battle, meet one’s end, perish.
3. Pass Away
Meaning: A gentle, common euphemism for dying.
Example Sentence: My grandmother passed away peacefully in her sleep.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Depart this life, go to a better place, slip away.
4. Meet One’s Maker
Meaning: To die and face divine judgment, often with a religious tone.
Example Sentence: After years of living recklessly, he was ready to meet his maker.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Go to God, face judgment, pass on.
5. Shuffle Off This Mortal Coil
Meaning: A poetic phrase from Shakespeare, meaning to die and leave the physical world.
Example Sentence: When she shuffled off this mortal coil, she left behind a legacy of kindness.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Depart this life, leave the world, pass into eternity.
6. Go to the Great Beyond
Meaning: To die and enter an unknown afterlife.
Example Sentence: Grandpa always said he’d go to the great beyond with a smile.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Cross over, enter eternity, pass into the unknown.
7. Buy the Farm
Meaning: To die, often suddenly, with origins tied to soldiers or accidents.
Example Sentence: The pilot bought the farm when his plane crashed during the storm.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Meet one’s end, perish, kick the bucket.
8. Cash in One’s Chips
Meaning: To die, likening life to a gambling game where you cash out.
Example Sentence: After a wild life, he cashed in his chips at the age of 90.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Check out, pass on, call it quits.
9. Give Up the Ghost
Meaning: To die, often implying the soul or spirit leaving the body.
Example Sentence: The old car gave up the ghost, and so did its driver soon after.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Breathe one’s last, expire, pass away.
10. Cross the Rainbow Bridge
Meaning: A heartfelt term often used for pets passing away.
Example Sentence: Our dog Max crossed the rainbow bridge, and we miss him dearly.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Go to pet heaven, pass on, leave us.
11. Go Belly Up
Meaning: To die or fail, often used for businesses but sometimes people.
Example Sentence: After years of struggling, he went belly up in his sleep.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Kick the bucket, pass away, meet one’s end.
12. Push Up Daisies
Meaning: To be dead and buried, with daisies growing over the grave.
Example Sentence: By the time we found him, he was already pushing up daisies.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Six feet under, gone to rest, buried.
13. Sleep with the Fishes
Meaning: To die, especially by drowning or being disposed of in water, often with a mobster connotation.
Example Sentence: After crossing the boss, he was sleeping with the fishes by morning.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Drown, meet a watery grave, perish at sea.
14. Take the Dirt Nap
Meaning: A humorous or irreverent way to say someone has died and is buried.
Example Sentence: He took the dirt nap after a lifetime of adventure.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Push up daisies, rest in peace, be laid to rest.
15. Breathe One’s Last
Meaning: To take one’s final breath and die.
Example Sentence: She breathed her last surrounded by family.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass away, expire, give up the ghost.
16. Go to One’s Reward
Meaning: To die and receive divine reward, often religious.
Example Sentence: After a life of service, she went to her reward.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Meet one’s maker, enter heaven, pass on.
17. Drop Dead
Meaning: To die suddenly, sometimes used as an insult or curse.
Example Sentence: He just dropped dead in the middle of the street.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Collapse, pass away suddenly, keel over.
18. Keel Over
Meaning: To collapse and die suddenly.
Example Sentence: The old sailor keeled over after one too many drinks.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Drop dead, fall over, pass out permanently.
19. Slip Away
Meaning: To die quietly or gradually, often peacefully.
Example Sentence: She slipped away in the night, free from pain.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass away, fade away, depart softly.
20. Check Out
Meaning: To die, likening life to checking out of a hotel.
Example Sentence: He checked out after a long battle with illness.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass on, cash in one’s chips, leave us.
21. Go West
Meaning: To die, referencing the setting sun or migration.
Example Sentence: After a life of exploration, she went west in her sleep.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass away, head into the sunset, depart.
22. Meet One’s End
Meaning: A neutral phrase for dying, often dramatically.
Example Sentence: The knight met his end on the battlefield.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Perish, fall, bite the dust.
23. Lay Down One’s Life
Meaning: To die sacrificially, often for a cause.
Example Sentence: He laid down his life to save his comrades.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Sacrifice oneself, give one’s life, die heroically.
24. Join the Choir Invisible
Meaning: A poetic way to say someone has died, from a George Eliot poem.
Example Sentence: After a long illness, she joined the choir invisible.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass into eternity, go to the great beyond, rest in peace.
25. Croak
Meaning: A blunt, informal way to say someone has died.
Example Sentence: The old man croaked before he could finish his story.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Kick the bucket, pass away, drop dead.
26. Fade Away
Meaning: To die gradually, often peacefully or metaphorically.
Example Sentence: She faded away after years of battling illness.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Slip away, pass quietly, wane.
27. Rest in Peace
Meaning: A respectful wish for the deceased to find eternal rest.
Example Sentence: May he rest in peace after a life well-lived.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Sleep eternally, find peace, be at rest.
28. Be Six Feet Under
Meaning: To be dead and buried, referring to grave depth.
Example Sentence: He’s been six feet under for years now.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Push up daisies, be laid to rest, buried.
29. Go to the Wall
Meaning: To die, often in a struggle or conflict.
Example Sentence: The rebel went to the wall fighting for freedom.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Perish, meet one’s end, fall in battle.
30. Pass into Eternity
Meaning: A solemn phrase for dying and entering the afterlife.
Example Sentence: She passed into eternity surrounded by love.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Go to the great beyond, enter heaven, depart this life.
31. Call It Quits
Meaning: To die, as if ending a task or game.
Example Sentence: After a tough life, he called it quits at 85.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Check out, cash in one’s chips, pass on.
32. Be Taken by the Reaper
Meaning: To die, personifying death as the Grim Reaper.
Example Sentence: The village elder was taken by the reaper last night.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Meet death, pass away, be claimed.
33. Go Out Like a Light
Meaning: To die suddenly, as if losing consciousness instantly.
Example Sentence: He went out like a light during the heart attack.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Drop dead, keel over, pass instantly.
34. Lose the Battle
Meaning: To die after fighting an illness or struggle.
Example Sentence: She lost the battle with cancer but won our hearts.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Succumb, pass away, be overcome.
35. Take One’s Final Bow
Meaning: To die, likening life to a theatrical performance.
Example Sentence: The actress took her final bow after a brilliant career.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Exit the stage, pass on, leave the spotlight.
36. Be No More
Meaning: A simple, somber way to say someone has died.
Example Sentence: The great poet is no more, but his words live on.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Cease to be, pass away, depart.
37. Answer the Final Call
Meaning: To die, as if responding to a summons from death.
Example Sentence: He answered the final call after a life of courage.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Meet one’s maker, pass on, go to rest.
38. Succumb to Fate
Meaning: To die, accepting the inevitability of death.
Example Sentence: She succumbed to fate after a long illness.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass away, yield to death, meet one’s end.
39. Go to the Eternal Rest
Meaning: A religious phrase for dying and finding peace.
Example Sentence: May she go to the eternal rest she deserves.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Rest in peace, enter heaven, pass into eternity.
40. Fall Off the Perch
Meaning: A humorous, informal way to say someone has died.
Example Sentence: The old parrot finally fell off the perch last night.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Kick the bucket, croak, pass away.
41. Be Called Home
Meaning: A religious euphemism for dying, implying God’s call.
Example Sentence: She was called home after a life of faith.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Go to God, pass on, enter paradise.
42. Snuff It
Meaning: A blunt, informal British term for dying.
Example Sentence: He snuffed it before he could see his grandkids grow up.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Kick the bucket, croak, pass away.
43. Cross Over
Meaning: To die and move to the afterlife or another realm.
Example Sentence: She crossed over peacefully, surrounded by family.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass into eternity, go to the great beyond, depart.
44. Expire
Meaning: A formal or clinical term for dying.
Example Sentence: The patient expired during the night.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass away, breathe one’s last, perish as a whole, die.
45. Go to Glory
Meaning: A religious phrase for dying and entering heaven.
Example Sentence: He went to glory after a life of devotion.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Be called home, enter paradise, pass to heaven.
46. Be Laid to Rest
Meaning: To be buried after death, often with a funeral.
Example Sentence: She was laid to rest in the family cemetery.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Be buried, rest in peace, be interred.
47. Perish
Meaning: A formal or dramatic term for dying, often tragically.
Example Sentence: The explorers perished in the icy wilderness.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Die, meet one’s end, fall.
48. Ride the Pale Horse
Meaning: A biblical reference to death, from Revelation’s pale horse.
Example Sentence: He rode the pale horse after a sudden illness.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Meet death, pass away, be taken by the reaper.
49. Close One’s Eyes Forever
Meaning: A poetic way to say someone has died, often peacefully.
Example Sentence: She closed her eyes forever in the hospital bed.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Slip away, pass quietly, rest eternally.
50. Dance the Last Dance
Meaning: A metaphorical phrase for dying, likening life to a dance.
Example Sentence: He danced the last dance with grace and dignity.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Take one’s final bow, pass on, exit the stage.
51. Fall Asleep
Meaning: A biblical or gentle euphemism for dying, often religious.
Example Sentence: She fell asleep in the Lord after a long life.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Pass away, rest in peace, go to eternal rest.
52. Pay the Debt of Nature
Meaning: An old-fashioned phrase for dying, implying death is inevitable.
Example Sentence: He paid the debt of nature after years of poor health.
Alternative Ways of Saying It: Meet one’s end, pass away, succumb to fate.
Death Idioms Quiz
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Why These Idioms Matter
Language is more than words, it’s how we process life’s biggest moments. These idioms show how humans use humor, poetry, religion, and even bluntness to talk about death. Some phrases, like “pass away,” are gentle and universal, while others, like “sleep with the fishes,” carry specific cultural or historical weight. By learning these expressions, we not only enrich our vocabulary but also connect with the emotions and stories behind them.
If you’re curious to test your knowledge, try the interactive quiz below! It’s a fun way to practice these idioms and see how many you can remember.