death march

noun

A forced movement of people, on foot, in such circumstances that many die during the journey.

“the Bataan Death March”

Similar
dead march
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Meanings

noundeath march (plural death marches)

plural death marches

  1. A forced movement of people, on foot, in such circumstances that many die during the journey.

    the Bataan Death March

  2. managementA project that requires a stretch of unsustainable overwork, or whose participants feel it is destined to fail.
  3. Synonym of dead march (“mournful music for a funeral etc.”).

    Jacob Scheele was led to the gallows as a band played a death march.

    2015, Daniel Allen Hearn, Legal Executions in New England, page 282

    Synonyms: dead march

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSynonym of dead march (“mournful music for a funeral etc.”).

Similar
dead march
Also see
dead march

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 死亡行軍 /死亡行军
  • 死亡行軍 /死亡行军 (sǐwáng xíngjūn)forced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Czech pochod smrti
  • pochod smrtiforced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Danish dødsmarch
  • dødsmarchforced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Dutch dodenmars
  • dodenmarsforced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Finnish kuolemanmarssi
  • kuolemanmarssiforced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
French marche de la mort
  • marche de la mortforced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
German Todesmarsch
  • Todesmarschforced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Japanese 死の行進, 死の行軍
  • 死の行進 (shi no kōshin)forced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
  • 死の行軍 (shi no kōgun)forced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
  • デスマーチ (desu māchi)project requiring stretch of unsustainable overwork
  • デスマ (desuma)project requiring stretch of unsustainable overwork
Korean 죽음의 행진
  • 죽음의 행진 (jugeumui haengjin)forced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Polish marsz śmierci
  • marsz śmierciforced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Russian ма́рш сме́рти
  • ма́рш сме́рти (márš smérti)forced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Swedish dödsmarsch
  • dödsmarschforced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Tagalog martsa ng kamatayan
  • martsa ng kamatayanforced movement of people in such circumstances that many die during the journey
Cite this entry
APA

death march. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20march

MLA

“death march.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20march. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “death march,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/death%20march.

Source: death march on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.