perish

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈpeɹɪʃ/ UK /ˈpɛɹɪʃ/ See IPA manual

Freq #9529

Meanings

1

verb
to die or be destroyed, especially suddenly or in harsh conditions

Many plants perish in a hard frost.
2

verb
to decay or be ruined so that something can no longer be used

Fresh food can perish quickly in heat.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to die or be destroyed,... die expire

2 verb · to decay or be ruined so... spoil decay

Word family

Forms perishedperishesperishethperishing

Derived forms nonperishingperishabilityperisherperishinglyperishlessunperishedunperishing

Related forms perishable

Appears in

Idioms (1)

See all

perish the thought
used as an emphatic rejection of an idea considered intolerable

Proverbs (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Perish entered Middle English from Latin perire, literally “go away” or “pass away.” Perire combines per- “through, completely” with ire “to go.”

Etymology

From Middle English perishen, borrowed from Old French perir (via the stem periss- used in various conjugations), from Latin perīre (“pass away, perish”), from per (“through”) + īre (“pass, go”).

*h₁ey- Proto-Indo-European perishen Middle English perir Old French pereo Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# perish

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpeɹɪʃ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɛɹɪʃ/
**Frequency rank:** 9529

## Meanings
1. to die or be destroyed, especially suddenly or in harsh conditions
2. to decay or be ruined so that something can no longer be used

## Examples
- Many plants perish in a hard frost.
- Fresh food can perish quickly in heat.

## Synonyms
- die
- expire
- spoil
- decay

## Derived Forms
- nonperishing
- perishability
- perisher
- perishingly
- perishless
- unperished
- unperishing

## Related Forms
- perishable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₁ey-
- Root: perishen
- Root: perir
- Root: pereo

## Etymology
From Middle English perishen, borrowed from Old French perir (via the stem periss- used in various conjugations), from Latin perīre (“pass away, perish”), from per (“through”) + īre (“pass, go”).

## AI Etymology
perish is a verb meaning to die or be destroyed, especially suddenly or in harsh conditions. From Middle English perishen, borrowed from Old French perir (via the stem periss- used in various conjugations), from Latin perīre (“pass away, perish”), from per (“through”) + īre (“pass, go”).

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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