Euphemisms for “Death”
A field guide to euphemisms for death—collected, curated, and clinically useful. For anyone who talks about dying, with people who are still living,
A comprehensive, inclusive collection of vivid, culturally significant, and widely recognized euphemisms for death, organized by theme. This updated list includes all previously mentioned phrases, new popular culture additions, and a new category for pet and animal-specific euphemisms. Each phrase is selected for its evocative imagery, historical or literary weight, or cultural resonance, with no duplication.
1. Classic & Literary
Poetic or philosophical expressions, often drawn from literature or classical sources.
To sleep / Eternal sleep – A universal metaphor for death as rest, rooted in biblical and poetic traditions.
To rest in peace (RIP) – A widely used epitaph phrase, implying eternal calm.
To pass away – A gentle, modern standard for its simplicity and sensitivity.
To shuffle off this mortal coil – Shakespeare’s iconic phrase from Hamlet, evoking the shedding of earthly burdens.
To join the majority – From Petronius’ Latin abiit ad plures, used satirically to denote joining the dead.
To give up the ghost – A biblical and literary term (King James Bible), signifying the soul’s departure.
To go the way of all flesh – A biblical phrase, popularized in literature (e.g., Samuel Butler), emphasizing universal mortality.
To close one’s eyes forever – A literary phrase, evoking death’s finality with gentle imagery (Victorian novels).
To join the great majority – An expansion of Petronius’ phrase, used by Mark Twain, adding a grand, humorous tone.
To meet one’s Maker – A classic phrase implying facing divine judgment, common in literature and speech.
To pay the debt of nature – An 18th-century phrase framing death as settling a natural obligation.
New Addition:
To turn the final page – A literary metaphor for life’s story ending, seen in modern novels and eulogies.
2. Religious & Spiritual
Expressions reflecting beliefs about the afterlife or divine transcendence.
To go to Heaven – A hopeful Christian phrase implying ascent to paradise.
To be called home – A comforting Christian term suggesting God’s summons.
To cross the Jordan – A biblical reference to entering the Promised Land, symbolizing death.
To enter eternal rest – A serene Christian phrase, common in funerals, suggesting everlasting peace.
To be with the Lord – A deeply religious Christian expression, emphasizing union with God.
To ascend to the ancestors – A phrase from African and East Asian traditions, highlighting reunion with familial spirits.
To meet one’s judgment – A solemn Christian phrase, evoking divine reckoning (Puritan sermons).
To enter the Pure Land – A Buddhist euphemism, particularly in East Asian traditions, referring to rebirth in a paradise-like realm.
To gain one’s reward – A Christian phrase suggesting receiving heavenly compensation.
To be with the angels – A gentle religious image of joining celestial beings.
To be called to glory – A biblical-inspired term for being summoned to divine splendor.
To go to a better place – A consoling phrase used across faiths for a hopeful afterlife.
New Addition:
To rest in Abraham’s bosom – A biblical phrase (Luke 16:22), used in Christian contexts for entering paradise.
3. Military & Heroic
Terms honoring sacrifice and bravery, tied to war or duty.
To fall (in battle) – A concise, honorable military term for death in combat.
To make the ultimate sacrifice – A modern phrase for selfless death, common in memorials.
To lay down one’s life – A biblical and military phrase (John 15:13), denoting heroic sacrifice.
To muster out – Civil War-era term for a soldier’s final discharge, resonant with veterans.
To go over the top – WWI slang for soldiers facing near-certain death leaving trenches.
To answer the last roll call – A military metaphor for a soldier’s final accounting, used in tributes.
To buy the farm – WWII aviation slang for crashing and dying, evoking "buying" a grave plot.
New Addition:
To take the last salute – A military phrase for a soldier’s final honor, often used in funeral contexts.
4. Nautical & Journeying
Phrases using imagery of travel or crossing, often tied to water.
To cross the bar – From Tennyson’s poem, a poetic metaphor for passing from life to death.
To set sail / embark on the final voyage – A nautical image of death as a journey to the unknown.
To pass over / cross over – A gentle, biblical-rooted phrase suggesting a transition to another realm.
To go West – WWI soldier slang, tied to the sun setting, symbolizing life’s end.
To sail into the sunset – A romanticized nautical phrase, popularized in media, suggesting a serene final journey.
To go to Davy Jones’ locker – Nautical slang for drowning at sea, from pirate lore and Pirates of the Caribbean.
New Addition:
To weigh anchor for the last time – A nautical metaphor for departing life, evoking a ship’s final voyage.
5. Natural & Cyclical
Phrases framing death as part of nature’s rhythm, using organic imagery.
To return to dust – From Genesis 3:19, a solemn reminder of mortality’s tie to the earth.
To breathe one’s last – A simple, evocative phrase for the final act of life, common in literature.
To fade away – A gentle metaphor for life’s gradual dimming.
To wither like grass – A biblical image (Psalm 102:11), evoking life’s fleeting nature.
To the long sleep of winter – A poetic phrase likening death to nature’s dormant season.
To fall like autumn leaves – A poetic, cross-cultural image (Romantic poetry, East Asian literature), emphasizing natural decline.
To go to seed – A botanical metaphor for life’s end, like a plant dispersing seeds before dying.
To sunset – Framing death as the close of day, contrasting with birth as "sunrise."
New Addition:
To wilt like a flower – A poetic image of life’s beauty fading, used in literature and eulogies.
6. Mythic & Cultural
Expressions from mythology or cultural traditions, rich with imagery.
To cross the Styx – Greek mythology’s river to the underworld, a striking image of death’s passage.
To enter Valhalla – Norse mythology’s hall for heroic warriors, vivid and culturally specific.
To join the ancestors – A resonant phrase in African and Indigenous traditions, emphasizing lineage.
To ride the pale horse – From Revelation 6:8, a powerful Christian image of death personified.
To walk the Dreaming – From Australian Aboriginal spirituality, referring to entering the eternal spiritual realm.
To join the eternal hunt – A Germanic and Celtic pagan metaphor, evoking a warrior’s afterlife.
To enter the longhouse – An Iroquois metaphor for joining the afterlife community.
To join the choir invisible – From George Eliot, popularized in Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch.
To go to the happy hunting ground – A Native American-inspired phrase for a paradisiacal afterlife, used in Westerns.
To become one with the Force – From Star Wars, a sci-fi mythic euphemism for death and spiritual unity.
New Addition:
To join the Elysian Fields – From Greek mythology, a paradisiacal afterlife, referenced in literature and films.
7. Modern & Secular
Contemporary, neutral, or colloquial phrases from everyday speech.
To pass on – A gentle, common euphemism implying transition without religious overtones.
To be no longer with us – A polite, formal phrase used in obituaries.
To kick the bucket – A colorful, folk-origin phrase, widely known for its blunt humor.
To bite the dust – A Western phrase, popularized by media, implying a sudden end.
To go offline – A modern, tech-inspired phrase, resonating in digital culture.
To check out – A colloquial term likening death to leaving a hotel or life.
To expire – A bureaucratic phrase, like a document or subscription ending, used in medical contexts.
To flatline – From medical TV shows (e.g., ER), referring to a heart monitor showing no activity.
To game over – From video games and movies, signifying the end of one’s "play" in life.
New Addition:
To leave the stage – A theatrical metaphor for exiting life’s performance, used in pop culture (e.g., David Bowie tributes).
8. Dark Wit & Exceptional
Phrases with humor, irony, or a sharp edge, often from slang or media.
To cash in one’s chips – A gambling metaphor for settling life’s final account, witty and recognized.
To assume room temperature – Gallows humor, starkly clinical, used in medical or crime contexts.
To log off for the last time – A digital-age phrase, suggesting final disconnection, tech-resonant.
To join the great gig in the sky – From Pink Floyd’s song, a poetic take on death’s mystery.
To self-certify for hospice – A Hospice Synopsis original, playfully bureaucratic, evoking end-of-life acceptance.
To take the dirt nap – A darkly humorous American slang term, implying burial.
The Cosmic Sleep – A Hospice Synopsis original, with a vast, existential tone.
To push up daisies – Witty slang for being buried and "fertilizing" flowers, common in cartoons and British media.
To pop one’s clogs – British slang for dying, from "clogs" as shoes or pawnshop term, featured in comedy.
To sleep with the fishes – From The Godfather, a Mafia euphemism for being dumped in water after death.
To be six feet under – Slang for burial depth, popularized in TV (e.g., Six Feet Under).
To croak – A frog-like sound metaphor for dying, common in detective novels and films.
To hop the twig – Old slang for "leaping" off life’s branch, used in historical fiction and humor.
To become worm food – A cynical phrase for decomposition, seen in horror movies and dark comedy.
New Addition:
To meet the reaper – A reference to the Grim Reaper, popularized in songs (e.g., Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper”) and horror media.
9. Pet & Animal-Specific
Euphemisms used for the death of pets or animals
To cross the Rainbow Bridge – A widely used pet euphemism, imagining a bridge to a pet afterlife, popularized in online communities.
To be put to sleep – A veterinary term for euthanasia, gentle but clinical, commonly understood by pet owners.
To go to doggy/cat heaven – A comforting phrase for pets joining a heavenly realm, often used with children.
To run free forever – A sentimental phrase for animals, especially pets, no longer bound by earthly limits.
To chase the eternal squirrel – A playful pet-specific euphemism, evoking a dog’s endless pursuit in the afterlife.
To rest in the great meadow – A pastoral image for animals, particularly horses or farm animals, entering a peaceful afterlife.
Formatted by Clarity as inspired by a JAMA article (The Clarity Ladder)
Level I – Vague:
Something may happen * Likely won’t make it thought the night. * A change occurred * Time is near * There is not much time left * It was his time * It’s time * There was nothing we could do
Level II – Medical Jargon:
Expired * Irrecoverable heart rate drop * Assumed room temperature * Called the Code
Vitals Have Ceased * Flatlined * We honored the DNR * Respirations Have Ceased (RHC)
Brain dead * Organ Donor * Self-certify for hospice * Heart stopped * No longer suffering
Level III – Colloquial Euphemisms:
Enter eternal rest * Called home * Turn the final page * Give up the ghost * Become worm food Become one with the Force * Rest in Abraham’s bosom *Go to Davy Jones’ locker * Pass over Cross over * Join the Elysian Fields * Log off for the last time * Join the choir invisible
Sail into the sunset * Take the last salute * Took the Last Bow * Pay the debt of nature
Weigh anchor for the last time * Embark on a final voyage * Close one’s eyes forever
Shuffle off this mortal coil * Make the ultimate sacrifice * Answer the last roll call
Gone to a better place * Called to glory * Lay down one’s life * Join the ancestors
Long sleep of winter * Fall like autumn leaves * Ride the pale horse * Cross the Styx
Cross the Jordan * Be with the Lord * Enter the longhouse * Be with the angels
Cash in one’s chips * Push up daisies * Join the majority
Join the eternal hunt * Enter Valhalla * Go to Heaven
Wither like grass * Return to dust * Go over the top
Cross the bar * Bite the dust * Kick the bucket
Leave the stage * Cosmic Sleep * Passed away
Pass on * Go West * Set sail * Six feet under
Join the great majority
Enter the Pure Land
Sunset * Croak
Level IV – Survival Framing:
Did not survive
Won’t make it
End of life
Level V – Direct
Dead
Died
