Meanings
noundie-off (plural die-offs)
plural die-offs · alternative dieoff
- biologyAn incident or episode in which a particular species or organism dies off, especially in large numbers.
A serious drought in 1785 and 1786 caused a die-off of cattle, which ruined many peasant families, especially in the south.
2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 3611 more example
Die-offs have been documented before but not to this degree. During the first 10 days of January, researchers counted 17,293 dead murres on beaches and 854 more in vessel surveys.
2016 February 5, Dan Joling, “Alaska seabird die-off investigation hindered by data gaps”, in CBC News, archived from the original on 17 Feb 2017
Origin
Deverbal from die off.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Russian гибель, падёж
- гибель (gibelʹ)Translations
- падёж (padjóž)Translations
- мор (mor)Translations
Cite this entry
APA
die-off. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/die-off
MLA
“die-off.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/die-off. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “die-off,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/die-off.
Source: die-off on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.