English loves its idioms—phrases that mean more than their words suggest. When it comes to discussing something as significant as death or being dead, our language offers many such expressions. Instead of simply saying someone passed away, we often use colorful or softer terms like “kicking the bucket” or “six feet under.”
These idioms make tough topics a bit easier to discuss and enrich our daily conversations. This article explores common idioms for dead, revealing their meanings and origins, helping you master these unique parts of English.
Best Idioms for Dead
1. Kick the Bucket
Meaning: To die, often used humorously or informally. It comes from the idea of someone standing on a bucket to hang themselves and then kicking it away.
In a Sentence: Old Mr. Henderson finally kicked the bucket last Tuesday, bless his soul.
Other Ways to Say: Pass away, pass on, expire.
2. Pushing Up Daisies
Meaning: To be dead and buried, with plants, typically daisies, growing over the grave. It’s used as a lighthearted or whimsical way to refer to someone who has died.
In a Sentence: After all those adventures, he’s probably pushing up daisies somewhere exotic.
Other Ways to Say: Buried, deceased, gone.
3. Bite the Dust
Meaning: To die, especially in a sudden or violent manner, often used for someone falling face-down in battle or a struggle. It’s common in action-oriented narratives.
In a Sentence: The villain finally bit the dust after a long chase.
Other Ways to Say: Perish, fall in battle, succumb.
4. Buy the Farm
Meaning: To die, particularly in an accident or combat. The origin is often linked to World War II pilots crashing their planes into farmland, implying their families received insurance money to buy a farm.
In a Sentence: The general knew that if they didn’t retreat, many of his soldiers would buy the farm.
Other Ways to Say: Die in action, get killed, perish.
5. Croak
Meaning: To die. This informal term mimics the sound of a frog’s final gasp or a person making a strained, dying sound.
In a Sentence: I heard the old miser finally croaked, and left all his money to a cat.
Other Ways to Say: Expire, pass away, snuff it (informal).
6. Drop Dead
Meaning: To die suddenly. It can also be used as an insult, wishing death upon someone in anger or exasperation.
In a Sentence: I nearly dropped dead when I heard the news of the lottery win. (humorous exaggeration) / Just drop dead, you annoying fly! (insult)
Other Ways to Say: Perish suddenly, collapse and die, cease to live.
7. Take a Dirt Nap
Meaning: To die and be buried, implying a final “nap” in the earth. It’s a humorous and somewhat euphemistic way to talk about death.
In a Sentence: After a long and full life, my old dog finally took a dirt nap.
Other Ways to Say: Be buried, rest in peace, be six feet under.
8. Bite the Big One
Meaning: To die, often implying a dramatic or significant death. It’s an informal slang term.
In a Sentence: The old engine finally bit the big one after years of faithful service. (Referring to an object) / He nearly bit the big one in that car crash. (near-death)
Other Ways to Say: Die spectacularly, meet one’s end, perish.
9. Pop One’s Clogs
Meaning: To die. This is a humorous British slang term with uncertain origins, possibly related to pawnbrokers’ “popping” (selling) clogs that were unredeemed.
In a Sentence: My eccentric great-aunt finally popped her clogs at 102.
Other Ways to Say: Die (informal, UK), pass away, expire.
10. Close One’s Eyes Forever
Meaning: To die, referring to the final act of shutting one’s eyes in eternal rest. This is a poetic and often emotional way to describe death.
In a Sentence: After a long and full life, he closed his eyes forever.
Other Ways to Say: Pass away, pass on, find eternal rest.
11. Six Feet Under
Meaning: To be dead and buried, referring to the traditional depth of a grave. This idiom emphasizes the finality of death.
In a Sentence: After a long illness, he’s now six feet under, resting peacefully.
Other Ways to Say: Buried, deceased, departed.
12. Give Up the Ghost
Meaning: To die, based on the ancient belief that the soul or spirit (ghost) leaves the body at the moment of death. It often carries a solemn or literary tone.
In a Sentence: The old machine finally gave up the ghost after sputtering for an hour. (Referring to an object) / He gave up the ghost peacefully in his sleep.
Other Ways to Say: Expire, perish, pass away.
13. Dead as a Doornail
Meaning: Completely and utterly dead or beyond use. The phrase implies the absolute inertness of a doornail, which is hammered in and never used again.
In a Sentence: The old battery in my remote is dead as a doornail.
Other Ways to Say: Absolutely dead, utterly lifeless, completely defunct.
14. Breathe Your Last
Meaning: To die, specifically referring to taking one’s final breath. This is a poetic and often poignant way to describe the moment of death.
In a Sentence: He breathed his last surrounded by his loving family.
Other Ways to Say: Expire, pass away, succumb.
15. Go Belly Up
Meaning: To die, for both living beings and, more commonly, for businesses or plans that fail completely, like a dead fish floating on its back.
In a Sentence: After months of struggling, the startup finally went belly up.
Other Ways to Say: Fail completely, cease to exist, collapse.
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16. Cash In One’s Chips
Meaning: To die, akin to a gambler finishing a game and exchanging their chips for money. It suggests a voluntary or final conclusion to life’s game.
In a Sentence: After a long and fulfilling life, my grandfather finally cashed in his chips.
Other Ways to Say: Pass on, expire, meet one’s end.
17. Be Toes Up
Meaning: To be dead, referring to the common posture of a deceased person lying on their back with their toes pointing upwards. It’s an informal and sometimes grim idiom.
In a Sentence: We found the old bird feeder with a squirrel next to it, toes up.
Other Ways to Say: Deceased, lifeless, departed.
18. Flatline
Meaning: To die, specifically referring to the flat line on an electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor, indicating no heart activity. It’s often used in medical or dramatic contexts.
In a Sentence: The doctors worked frantically, but eventually, the monitor flatlined.
Other Ways to Say: Cardiac arrest, cease heart function, clinically dead.
19. Cross the River Styx
Meaning: To die, referencing the mythological river in Greek mythology that formed the boundary between the living world and the underworld, crossed by souls of the deceased.
In a Sentence: He knew his time was near; it was almost time to cross the River Styx.
Other Ways to Say: Enter the afterlife, pass to the underworld, journey to the beyond.
20. Be Done For
Meaning: To be dead or in a state of irreversible failure or doom. It implies that there is no hope or possibility of recovery.
In a Sentence: When the lifeboat capsized, they knew they were done for.
Other Ways to Say: Doomed, finished, beyond hope.
21. Sleep with the Fishes
Meaning: To be dead, specifically by drowning or being disposed of in water, often implying a forced or violent death, popularized by gangster movies like The Godfather.
In a Sentence: The mob boss warned the traitor that if he didn’t cooperate, he’d be sleeping with the fishes.
Other Ways to Say: Drowned, disposed of at sea, forcibly deceased.
22. Shuffle Off This Mortal Coil
Meaning: To die, famously from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, referring to shedding the troubles and physical limitations of earthly life. It’s a literary and formal expression.
In a Sentence: After a long illness, she peacefully shuffled off this mortal coil.
Other Ways to Say: Depart this life, pass away, leave the earthly realm.
23. Meet Your Maker
Meaning: To die and face God or judgment in the afterlife. This idiom has a strong religious connotation.
In a Sentence: The old preacher lived a righteous life, ready to meet his Maker when his time came.
Other Ways to Say: Face judgment, go to heaven, meet God.
24. Dead as a Dodo
Meaning: Completely dead, extinct, or obsolete, like the dodo bird, which famously became extinct. It’s used humorously or to emphasize absolute lifelessness or obsolescence.
In a Sentence: Rotary phones are as dead as a dodo; you hardly ever see one now.
Other Ways to Say: Extinct, obsolete, utterly gone.
25. Pass Over to the Other Side
Meaning: To die, implying a transition from the physical world to another realm or dimension, often used in spiritual or metaphysical contexts.
In a Sentence: After a long and peaceful life, he passed over to the other side.
Other Ways to Say: Transition, depart, cross over.
26. Go to Davy Jones’ Locker
Meaning: To die at sea, from nautical folklore. Davy Jones’ Locker is a metaphorical resting place for sailors who have drowned.
In a Sentence: The old sailor knew the risks of the stormy seas; he was prepared to go to Davy Jones’ Locker if necessary.
Other Ways to Say: Drown at sea, lost at sea, buried at sea.
27. Join the Choir Invisible
Meaning: To die, from a poem by George Eliot, suggesting that the deceased join a heavenly or spiritual choir of those who have passed on. It’s a poetic and elevated expression.
In a Sentence: Through his enduring legacy, he has truly joined the choir invisible.
Other Ways to Say: Enter eternal rest, become immortal (through legacy), ascend.
28. Be Called Home
Meaning: To die, implying a return to God or a spiritual home. This is a comforting and religious expression often used in sermons or eulogies.
In a Sentence: We mourn his passing, but we know he has been called home to eternal peace.
Other Ways to Say: Called to rest, returned to the Creator, embraced by the divine.
29. Ride the Pale Horse
Meaning: To die, a dramatic reference to the biblical Book of Revelation, where Death rides a pale horse. It signifies fate and the inevitability of death.
In a Sentence: When the plague swept through the village, many rode the pale horse.
Other Ways to Say: Succumb to death, face one’s demise, meet a grim fate.
30. Go to the Great Beyond
Meaning: To die, suggesting a journey to an unknown afterlife or another existence. It implies mystery and the vastness beyond life.
In a Sentence: We don’t know what awaits us, but one day we will all go to the great beyond.
Other Ways to Say: Enter the unknown, pass into the afterlife, journey into eternity.
31. Death Warmed Up
Meaning: To look or feel extremely ill, pale, and unwell, as if one is nearly dead or a ghost. Used dramatically to describe a sickly appearance.
In a Sentence: After battling the flu for a week, he looked like death warmed up.
Other Ways to Say: Pale and ill, sickly appearance, look dreadful.
32. Dig Your Own Grave
Meaning: To cause one’s own downfall, ruin, or eventual death through one’s actions or choices. It’s a cautionary metaphor.
In a Sentence: His reckless spending was slowly digging his own grave financially.
Other Ways to Say: Self-destruct, cause one’s ruin, bring about one’s demise.
33. Worm Food
Meaning: To be dead and decomposing, eaten by worms. This is a grim and stark idiom used in dark humor or to emphasize the finality and biological reality of death.
In a Sentence: When you’re six feet under, you’ll just be worm food.
Other Ways to Say: Decomposing, deceased, interred.
34. Be Stone Cold
Meaning: To be completely dead and lifeless, emphasizing the lack of warmth or any vital signs. Often used in crime or thriller narratives.
In a Sentence: By the time the paramedics arrived, the victim was stone cold.
Other Ways to Say: Lifeless, deceased, rigor mortis.
35. Snuff It
Meaning: To die, like extinguishing a candle flame. It’s an informal British slang term, often carrying a sense of abruptness or indifference.
In a Sentence: The old car finally snuffed it on the motorway. (referring to an object) / He looked like he was about to snuff it after that cough. (informal, humorous exaggeration).
Other Ways to Say: Die suddenly, expire, cease to live.
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36. Peg Out
Meaning: To die, an informal and somewhat sudden way to describe death. Its origin might relate to marking a score in games like cribbage, where you “peg out” when you reach the end.
In a Sentence: The old dog finally pegged out after a long illness.
Other Ways to Say: Drop dead, expire, kick the bucket.
37. Buy It
Meaning: To die, especially in combat or a dangerous situation, implying that one has “paid the price” or received a fatal blow.
In a Sentence: Many soldiers bought it on the battlefield that day.
Other Ways to Say: Perish in battle, get killed, make the ultimate sacrifice.
38. Be Kaput
Meaning: To be dead, broken, or completely useless. This comes from German slang and is often used for machines, but can also refer to people informally.
In a Sentence: My old phone is completely kaput; it won’t even turn on. / After that fall, he was practically kaput.
Other Ways to Say: Ruined, broken beyond repair, defunct.
39. Fade to Black
Meaning: To die, similar to how a movie scene gradually darkens and ends. It conveys a dramatic and conclusive sense of an ending.
In a Sentence: As his strength left him, he felt himself fading to black.
Other Ways to Say: Lose consciousness, pass away, come to an end.
40. Be Curtains
Meaning: To die or to reach an inevitable, dramatic end, like a theater curtain falling at the end of a performance.
In a Sentence: When the police surrounded the building, the criminals knew it was curtains for them.
Other Ways to Say: The end, doomed, finished.
41. Beyond the Veil
Meaning: To die, passing into a spiritual or mystical realm that is unseen by the living. It suggests mystery and a transition to another existence.
In a Sentence: After her peaceful passing, we believe she is now beyond the veil, in a place of eternal peace.
Other Ways to Say: In the afterlife, departed, in the spirit world.
42. Rest in Peace
Meaning: To die and find eternal rest, often inscribed on gravestones or used in eulogies. It expresses a wish for the deceased’s peaceful repose.
In a Sentence: We laid him to rest, hoping he would finally rest in peace.
Other Ways to Say: Find eternal rest, sleep eternally, be at peace.
43. Go to One’s Reward
Meaning: To die and receive divine judgment or recompense for one’s actions in life, often used in religious contexts.
In a Sentence: The saintly woman lived a life of service, and now she has gone to her reward.
Other Ways to Say: Receive divine recompense, be judged, enter the heavenly kingdom.
44. Slip Away
Meaning: To die quietly and often peacefully, without struggle or fanfare. It conveys a sense of gentle departure.
In a Sentence: After a long illness, he simply slipped away in his sleep.
Other Ways to Say: Pass away peacefully, pass on gently, depart quietly.
45. Pass Into Eternity
Meaning: To die and enter into an eternal existence, beyond the confines of time. This is a spiritual and philosophical expression.
In a Sentence: We gathered to remember her life as she passed into eternity.
Other Ways to Say: Enter eternal life, transcend, achieve immortality.
46. Be Gathered to One’s Fathers
Meaning: To die, a biblical phrase meaning to join one’s ancestors in the afterlife. It emphasizes lineage and connection to forebears.
In a Sentence: After ruling wisely for many years, the king was gathered to his fathers.
Other Ways to Say: Join one’s ancestors, pass into heritage, return to one’s lineage.
47. Answer the Final Call
Meaning: To die, responding to life’s ultimate summons or destiny. It can be dramatic, suggesting an unavoidable fate.
In a Sentence: Despite his will to live, he ultimately had to answer the final call.
Other Ways to Say: Meet one’s destiny, succumb to fate, be summoned.
48. Lay Down One’s Life
Meaning: To die, specifically sacrificing oneself for others or a cause. This idiom conveys heroism and selflessness.
In a Sentence: The soldier bravely laid down his life to protect his comrades.
Other Ways to Say: Sacrifice oneself, give one’s life, make the ultimate sacrifice.
49. Go Into the Light
Meaning: To die, moving towards a spiritual or heavenly light, often associated with near-death experiences or religious beliefs. It implies hope and a peaceful transition.
In a Sentence: She described a feeling of peace as she felt herself going into the light.
Other Ways to Say: Ascend to heaven, move towards spiritual illumination, find peace.
50. Check Out
Meaning: To die, used in a lighthearted or casual manner, similar to leaving a hotel or checking out of a library.
In a Sentence: The old computer finally checked out after serving us for over a decade. (Referring to an object) / He looked like he was about to check out after that intense workout. (Humorous exaggeration of exhaustion)
Other Ways to Say: Depart, pass on, expire.
Conclusion
We’ve explored how English uses diverse idioms to describe being dead or someone passing away. Understanding these phrases not only expands your vocabulary but also deepens your grasp of English. Master these idioms for dead to better understand native speakers and communicate with more nuance. Ready to keep learning?
Danny Weber is a language enthusiast and freelance writer with a passion for unpacking the beauty of idioms and metaphors. Through years of research and creative exploration, Danny helps readers understand the deeper meanings behind familiar phrases—making figurative language feel accessible, engaging, and alive. Whether he’s decoding classic sayings or crafting new twists on old expressions, Danny’s work invites you to see language with fresh eyes.
