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
Synonyms
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
The Park fire is burning about a dozen miles from Paradise, the site of the deadliest wildfire in California history; 86 people perished in the 2018 Camp fire.
—Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2024
In all, at least 80 percent of the prewar Dutch Jewish community perished during the Holocaust.
—Linda Chase, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2024
This pairing can also perish in the most excruciatingly toxic horror movie ending imaginable, because hello, incompatibility!
—Jennifer Culp, Them, 31 July 2024
Twenty-six thousand alone perished in the 47-day-long Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918.
—Katie Shepherd, Washington Post, 27 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for perish 
Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2024
In all, at least 80 percent of the prewar Dutch Jewish community perished during the Holocaust.
—Linda Chase, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2024
This pairing can also perish in the most excruciatingly toxic horror movie ending imaginable, because hello, incompatibility!
—Jennifer Culp, Them, 31 July 2024
Twenty-six thousand alone perished in the 47-day-long Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918.
—Katie Shepherd, Washington Post, 27 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for perish
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near perish
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perish. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perish
verb
per·ish
ˈper-ish 
: to pass away completely : become destroyed
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