demise

plural demises

1. countableuncountablelawThe conveyance or transfer of an estate, either in fee for life or for years, most commonly the latter.
2. countableuncountableTransmission by formal act or conveyance to an heir or successor; transference; especially, the transfer or transmission of the crown or royal authority to a successor.

   1 more example

   Immediately upon the Royal Assent being signified to this Act the Instrument of Abdication […] shall have effect, and thereupon His Majesty shall cease to be King and there shall be a demise of the Crown, and accordingly the member of the Royal Family then next in succession to the Throne shall succeed thereto and to all the rights, privileges, and dignities thereunto belonging.

   1936, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Section 1”, in His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936, page 1

3. countableDeath; decease.

   Earth looked her loveliest to receive my sweet sister's gentle dust; but all was harsh and sullen as her own nature when Lady Avonleigh's haughty ashes returned to their original element. Immediately after her demise, her son went abroad, and I accompanied him.

   1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 124

   Synonyms: fatality, quietus, death, end, tomb, celestial transfer, decease, decomposition

4. countableThe end of something, in a negative sense; downfall.

   The lack of funding ultimately led to the project's demise.

   2 more examples

   More than a quarter of a century after the fraught events that followed the privatisation of the railway, Corbett has provided a warts and all analysis of what led to the spate of rail disasters in the aftermath of the break-up of British Rail, and (ultimately) to the demise of the company.

   2026 March 4, Christian Wolmar, “Railtrack: what really happened”, in RAIL, number 1056, page 50

   “Who is going to move against him [V. Putin]? Everyone is simply waiting for his demise,” [Oleg] Tinkov added.

   2026 May 24, Pjotr Sauer, Shaun Walker, “‘There is profound disappointment in him’: mood in Russia turns against Putin”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

5. countableuncountableengineeringThe atmospheric disintegration of a satellite or satellite component upon re-entering Earth's atmosphere.

   Relocating components to places where they receive more heating effect earlier in the reentry and even triggering a partial break-up of the satellite structure during reentry to aid demise.

present singular third person demises · participle present demising · participle past demised · past demised

1. obsoletetransitivelawTo give.
2. transitivelawTo convey, as by will or lease.
3. transitivelawTo transmit by inheritance.
4. intransitivelawTo pass by inheritance.
5. intransitiveTo die.