knell.

1. The sound of a bell rung to announce a death or funeral.

2. Figuratively, a signal that an institution, hope, or way of life is ending.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• death knell
• funeral knell
• sound the knell

On the page

The knell reached the fields before the messenger did.

Closing the mill sounded the death knell for the village.

Between gusts, she counted the slow strokes of the funeral knell.

Usage notes

Primary category: gothic. Figuratively a signal that something is ending; death knell is the usual metaphorical collocation. Plural knells. Separate verb: knell, knells, knelled, knelling.