death knell.

1. The tolling of a bell to announce or mark a death.

2. An event or sign regarded as heralding the end or failure of something.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• sound a death knell
• a distant death knell

On the page

The death knell reached the orchard before the messenger did.

A death knell sounded beyond the houses as she folded the unfinished letter.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Forms: Singular death knell; plural death knells. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.