7 VERB You can use die in expressions such as ' I almost died ' or ' I'd die if anything happened ' where you are emphasizing your feelings about a situation, for example to say that it is very shocking, upsetting, embarrassing, or amusing. [INFORMAL , mainly SPOKEN , EMPHASIS ] □ [V ] I nearly died when I learned where I was ending up. □ [V + of ] I nearly died of shame. □ [V v-ing] I thought I'd die laughing.
8 N‑COUNT A die is a specially shaped or patterned block of metal which is used to press or cut other metal into a particular shape.
9 → see also dying
10 PHRASE You can say that the die is cast to draw attention to the importance of an event or decision which is going to affect your future and which cannot be changed or avoided.
11 PHRASE If you say that habits or attitudes die hard , you mean that they take a very long time to disappear or change, so that it may not be possible to get rid of them completely. □ Old habits die hard.
▸ die away PHRASAL VERB If a sound dies away , it gradually becomes weaker or fainter and finally disappears completely. □ [V P ] The firing finally began to die away in the late afternoon.
▸ die down PHRASAL VERB If something dies down , it becomes very much quieter or less intense. □ [V P ] The controversy is unlikely to die down.
▸ die out
1 PHRASAL VERB If something dies out , it becomes less and less common and eventually disappears completely. □ [V P ] We used to believe that capitalism would soon die out.
2 PHRASAL VERB If something such as a fire or wind dies out , it gradually stops burning or blowing. [AM ] □ [V P ] Once the fire has died out, the salvage team will move in.
die|hard /da I hɑː r d/ (diehards ) also die-hard N‑COUNT [oft N n] A diehard is someone who is very strongly opposed to change and new ideas, or who is a very strong supporter of a person or idea.
die|sel /diː z ə l/ (diesels )
1 N‑VAR Diesel or diesel oil is the heavy oil used in a diesel engine.
2 N‑COUNT A diesel is a vehicle which has a diesel engine.
die |sel en|gine (diesel engines ) N‑COUNT A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine in which oil is burnt by very hot air. Diesel engines are used in buses and trucks, and in some trains and cars.
diet ◆◆◇ /da I ət/ (diets , dieting , dieted )
1 N‑VAR Your diet is the type and range of food that you regularly eat. □ It's never too late to improve your diet. □ …a healthy diet rich in fruit and vegetables.
2 N‑COUNT If a doctor puts someone on a diet , he or she makes them eat a special type or range of foods in order to improve their health. □ [+ of ] He was put on a diet of milky food.
3 N‑VAR If you are on a diet , you eat special kinds of food or you eat less food than usual because you are trying to lose weight. □ Have you been on a diet? You've lost a lot of weight.
4 VERB If you are dieting , you eat special kinds of food or you eat less food than usual because you are trying to lose weight. □ [V ] I've been dieting ever since the birth of my fourth child. ● diet|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ She has already lost around two stone through dieting.
5 ADJ [ADJ n] Diet drinks or foods have been specially produced so that they do not contain many calories. □ …sugar-free diet drinks.
6 N‑COUNT If you are fed on a diet of something, especially something unpleasant or of poor quality, you receive or experience a very large amount of it. □ [+ of ] The radio had fed him a diet of pop songs.
di|etary /da I ətri, [AM ] -teri/
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] You can use dietary to describe anything that concerns a person's diet. □ Dr Susan Hankinson has studied the dietary habits of more than 50,000 women.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] You can use the word dietary to describe substances such as fibre and fat that are found in food. □ …a source of dietary fibre.
di|et|er /da I ətə r / (dieters ) N‑COUNT A dieter is someone who is on a diet or who regularly goes on diets.
di|etet|ic /da I əte t I k/ ADJ [ADJ n] Dietetic food or drink is food or drink that has been specially produced so that it does not contain many calories. [AM , FORMAL ] □ All dietetic meals are low in sugar.
di|eti|cian /da I ət I ʃ ə n/ (dieticians ) also dietitian N‑COUNT A dietician is a person whose job is to give people advice about the kind of food they should eat. Dieticians often work in hospitals.
dif|fer /d I fə r / (differs , differing , differed )
1 VERB If two or more things differ , they are unlike each other in some way. □ [V + from ] The story he told police differed from the one he told his mother. □ [V ] Management styles differ.
2 VERB If people differ about something, they do not agree with each other about it. □ [V prep] The two leaders had differed on the issue of sanctions. □ [V ] That is where we differ. □ [V + with ] Since his retirement, Crowe has differed with the President on several issues.
3 to agree to differ → see agree
4 I beg to differ → see beg
dif|fer|ence ◆◆◇ /d I frəns/ (differences )
1 N‑COUNT The difference between two things is the way in which they are unlike each other. □ [+ between ] That is the fundamental difference between the two societies. □ [+ in ] …the vast difference in size.