: a sudden sharp decline of a population of animals or plants that is not caused directly by human activity
died off; dying off; dies off
: to die sequentially either singly or in numbers so that the total number is greatly diminished
Examples of die-off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Dorsey, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
In 2015, the largest toxic algae bloom ever recorded caused massive die-offs from Santa Barbara all the way to Alaska, killing thousands of marine mammals, including sea lions and fin whales.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2025
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025
Crown Bees Honeybees, which are tasked with pollinating many of the agricultural crops in the United States, are dying off in record numbers.
—Martha Ann Overland, NPR, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for die-off
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Noun
When DeSantis first ran for Governor in 2018, Florida was experiencing headline-grabbing environmental problems ranging from fish-killing red tides and toxic algae blooms to manatee die-offs and invasive species that were alarming residents and giving tourists pause.
—Chris Dorsey, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
In 2015, the largest toxic algae bloom ever recorded caused massive die-offs from Santa Barbara all the way to Alaska, killing thousands of marine mammals, including sea lions and fin whales.
—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2025
Verb
Species are dying off, sea levels are rising and extreme weather events are occurring more frequently.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2025
Crown Bees Honeybees, which are tasked with pollinating many of the agricultural crops in the United States, are dying off in record numbers.
—Martha Ann Overland, NPR, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for die-off
Cite this Entry
“Die-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/die-off. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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