Many verbs have different meanings, however this section deals with verbs and phrasal verbs connected with life and death. An example is provided only where the verb is commonly used in everyday conversation.
One irregular verb in bold is shown in all its forms.
Verbs
| The Verb (infinitive form) | The Meaning | An example ( Simple Past Tense) |
Regular /Irregular |
|---|---|---|---|
| To bury | To put a dead body into the ground. | We buried him in December. | Regular |
| To cremate | To burn a body, usually as part of a funeral ceremony. |
She was cremated. | Regular |
To die |
To stop living or existing, either suddenly or slowly. |
My mother died in 2005. | Irregular |
| To drown | To die under water. |
Many sailors drown. | Regular |
| To execute |
To kill someone as a legal punishment. |
He was executed for mass murder. |
Regular |
| To kill | To cause someone or something to die. | It is estimated that smoking kills 120,000 people every year. | Regular |
| To live | To continue, to be alive or have life. |
She lived for 100 years. | Regular |
| To murder | The crime of intentionally killing a person. |
It is thought that Dr Harold Shipman murdered 400 people. | Regular |
| To procreate | To produce young. |
About five hundred penguins get in a big circle and they procreate. | Regular |
| To suffocate | To die because of a lack of oxygen. |
The autopsy showed he suffocated. | Regular |
Phrasal Verbs
| The Phrasal Verb | The Meaning | An example ( Simple Past Tense) |
S=Separable I=Inseparable |
|---|---|---|---|
| To bump off | To murder someone (slang). | He didn't die of natural causes, someone bumped him off. | S |
| To commit genocide | To murder a whole group of people, especially a whole nation. | Mr Powell concluded that that genocide had been committed in Darfur. | I |
| To commit suicide | If a person commits suicide, they kill themselves. |
Ian Curtis committed suicide by hanging at the age of 23. | I |
| To drop dead | To die suddenly and unexpectedly. | He dropped dead in the middle of a game of cards. | I |
| To give birth | When a woman or female animal gives birth, she produces a baby from her body. |
She gave birth to twins. A boy and a girl. | I |
| To grow up | To gradually become an adult. | I grew up in England. | S |
| To pass away | A polite expression for dying. | He passed away last year. | I |