Dying is not a word

Dying, dyeing, and dieing are all types of homophones. Homophones are words which sound the same. They may look different, or they may not. There are quite a few of these in English that you might be familiar with. However, today, let’s explore a set of words which might cause you trouble due to their similarity.

Dying, dyeing, and dieing are three different words. They can all be correct in the proper circumstances. However, dieing is most often a misspelling of dying. Take care to understand their meanings and uses.

Homophones

Before we begin our discussion of our word set, let’s briefly discuss ‘homophony’. Explained simply, homophones are words that sound the same and ‘homophony’ is the adjective used to describe this phenomenon. Due to the finite number of speech sounds in language, it’s unavoidable that some words are going to have the same pronunciation. All languages on Earth have some degree of homophony depending on the number of speech sounds available to them. If you want a deeper discussion on English speech sounds and how they can help your pronunciation, check out my article “How to Sound like a Native English Speaker.”

You may already know all of this and the concept is very simple. However, this phenomenon is more complex than you may realize. Homophones can be further broken down into subcategories such as, homonyms, homographs, heterographs, and heteronyms.

To understand the meanings of these words, you can break them down into their vocabulary elements. We have four vocabulary elements in the words above: homo-, hetero-, -graph, and -nym. They all have simple meanings that you can use to piece together the complete meanings of these words.

• homo- = the same
• hetero- = different
• -graph = writing
• -nym = name

So, piecing together our vocabulary elements, we find that homonym means “the same name”; homographs means “the same writing”; heterograph means “different writing”; and heteronym means “different name”. If you want to learn more about understanding the meaning of unknown words using vocabulary elements, check out my article “How Do You Read Difficult Words in English?”

Homonyms (the same name)

These are words that have the same spelling and the same pronunciation, but have a different meaning. Examples of this include:

• tire (wheel of a car) and tire (become fatigued)
• bat (a flying mammal) and bat (a long wooden stick used in baseball)
• stalk (the stem of a plant) and stalk (to follow and harass someone)
• left (past tense of leave) and left (opposite of right)

Heteronyms (different names)

This is a sort of antonym of homonym. These are words that have the same spelling, but a different pronunciation and meaning. Examples of this include:

• desert (to leave behind) and desert (a large sandy area)
• tear (to rip) and tear (a drop of liquid from the eye)
• record (to make a copy of sound) and record (a vinyl musical disc)
• produce (to create something) and produce (fruits and vegetables)

Homographs (the same writing)

These are words that are spelt the same and have a different meaning. The pronunciation does not matter. Examples include:

• bow (to bend at the waist) and bow (a ranged weapon)
• bark (the sound a dog makes) and bark (the rough skin of a tree)
• stock (to put items up for sale) and stock (the shares of a public company)
• host (the presenter of a TV program) and host (to welcome someone into your home)

Heterographs (different writing)

This is the opposite of the homograph. Heterographs have the same pronunciations, but the meanings and spellings are different. Examples include:

• to, too, two
• there, their, they’re
• bow (to bend at the waist) and bough (the branch of a tree)
• rain (water that falls from the sky) and reign (to rule as a monarch)

Based off our discussion above, we now know that these three words are all heterographs. They all have the same pronunciation, but the spellings and meanings of them are all different. So, let’s take a look at what those meanings are.

What does Dying Mean?

This is the present participle or gerund (a gerund is a verb used as a noun) of the verb “to die”. It means to cease living.

• The men are dying of thirst in the desert.
• Plants start dying in the fall.
• The man was dying of cancer.

Dying can also be used as a gerund or adjective in sentences.

• I’ll protect you until my dying breath.
• The dying tree looks sick.

There are also alternative ways to use the word “dying” that don’t have a literal sense.

• I’m dying to visit Rome.
• The comedian had us dying of laughter.
• I’m dying to drink some water. (extremely thirsty, not literally dying)

What does Dyeing Mean?

This is the present participle or gerund of the verb “to dye”. It means to change the colour of something (e.g. fabric or hair) using a natural or chemical substance.

• I love dyeing t-shirts rainbow colours.
• She’s dyeing her hair right now.
• We are dyeing the snow to make a colourful snowman.

What does Dieing Mean?

This word is most often a misspelling of dying. However, it can also be considered a specialized industrial term for casting metal. It’s important to note that this is a very rare term that isn’t used often outside of special circumstances.

It can be used as the present participle or gerund of the verb “to die” (not the same as the verb above). A die is a mould used to make industrial parts or toys. A molten material (most often metal or plastic) is poured into a device that outlines the shape of the final product and left to cool down.

• The workers were dieing steel plates.
• They are dieing car parts using the industrial die.

Conclusion

Overall, your choice of words is going to depend on what you want to say. The important thing to remember is that all three of these words may sound identical, but their spellings and meanings are different.

You likely won’t need to use dieing unless you work in a metal factory or work as an engineer creating special parts. So, you don’t need to worry too much about remembering the usage for this word. Just don’t mistake dieing as the present participle of “to die”!

Dyeing and dying may be tricky, but all you need to remember is that dyeing is closely linked to dye. These words are associated with colour and vibrancy. This is the opposite of dying and to die. These words are the opposite of vibrant. They are the cessation of life. You can think of dyeing and dying in this way to help you remember their uses.

Dieing is a misspelling if you are referring to death. The past participial form of die (death) is irregular, so you use dying. However, there is a specialized instance when you might use dieing and it be correct. There is a machine called a die-cut machine that cuts out shapes, letters, and numbers from paper.

Is the word dying or dieing?

Dying is most used as the present participle of the verb to die, i.e. to cease to live. … Dieing – a very uncommon word – is the present participle of the verb to die, but specifically in the sense of cutting metals with a tool called a die or die-cast machine.

What is past of die?

Died is a verb. It is the past tense and past participle tense of die. To die means to stop living.

How do you spell dying like death?

Summary

1. Dieing is a word, but it’s one you should almost never use, and it never refers to death.
2. Dying refers to death.
3. Dyeing refers to coloring a fabric or other material.

Why is it called a die?

Die is the singular form of dice. It comes from the French word des, a plural word for the same objects. In English, the most common way to make nouns plural is to add an S.

How do you use the word die?

Die sentence example

1. I should die of happiness! …
2. He expected to die from starvation. …
3. Every second, millions of cells die in your body and millions are born. …
4. His mate wasn’t going to die after all. …
5. I’d rather die first. …
6. “Please don’t let him die ,” she begged tearfully.

What die stands for?

Designated Investment Exchange. Business » Stock Exchange. Rate it: DIE. Description, Interpretation, Evaluation.

How do you say dying laughing?

die laughing

1. chuckle.
2. giggle.
3. grin.
4. roar.
5. scream.
6. shriek.
7. snicker.
8. whoop.

How is dying laughing spelled?

: to laugh for a long time in an uncontrollable way : to laugh very hard If the guys hear about this, they’re going to die laughing.

How do you spell lying like a liar?

Liar is an agent noun, a noun that denotes someone or something that performs an action described by the verb from which the noun is derived. The verb in question is lie, meaning “to say something that’s not true.” So, a liar is a person who lies—a person who says something they know is not true.

What word is debt?

The noun debt refers to an obligation to pay for or do something. … Debt comes from the Latin word debitum, which means “thing owed.” Often, a debt is money that you must repay someone.

How did you spell died?

verb (used without object), died, dy·ing.

What tense is has died?

He/She/It has died. … You/We/They have died. Present Perfect Continuous Tense. He/She/It has been dying.

Is to die for sentence?

excellent or to be strongly wished for: She has a figure to die for. That chocolate cake is to die for.

What is the difference between a die and a mold?

Dies and molds are both tools for shaping. Dies are used to shape sheet metal and other metal forms. A typical application is the making of automobile body parts. On the other hand, molds are used in injection molding such as with melted resin or casting molten metal.

What is the most sides on a die?

All dice are polyhedra (Greek for many-sided), but the D120 is a special variety called disdyakis triacontahedron. It features 120 scalene triangular faces and 62 vertices. That creates the largest number of symmetrical faces possible for an icosahedron and the biggest, most complex fair dice possible.

What is a die used for?

A die is a specialized machine tool used in manufacturing industries to cut and/or form material to a desired shape or profile. Stamping dies are used with a press, as opposed to drawing dies (used in the manufacture of wire) and casting dies (used in molding) which are not.

Is dieing a Scrabble word?

Yes, dieing is in the scrabble dictionary.

Was dying to see you meaning?

dying wish – considered a wish that should be granted, so construct such as: “I want to meet you and I want it so much as if it was a dying wish. I am dying to see you!”, though far fetched might actually be related.

When to use dies and died?

“Dies” is present indicative tense, 3rd. person singular. Every time you misspell a word, a kitten dies. “Died” is past tense or past participle.

What is the 3 form of do?

Do: forms. Do is an irregular verb. Its three forms are do, did, done.

What is the meaning of lying down?

1. to place oneself or be in a prostrate position in order to rest or sleep. 2. to accept without protest or opposition (esp in the phrases lie down under, take something lying down)

2022-07-07

Dying and dyeing are present participles of the verbs die and dye. Dieing is not a standard English word, but it is informally associated with using a die-cut machine.

What is the difference between dieing and dying?

Dieing is a common misspelling of dying and dyeing, the present participles of the verbs die (“to expire”) and dye (“to color with a dye”). “Dieing” is not a standard English word, but the informal spelling pops up in the context of using a die-cut machine. 

Why are dying and dyeing so confusing?

There are two reasons why writers struggle to use dying and dyeing correctly:

#1. Dying and dyeing both share the same two-syllable pronunciation: die–ing. 

In the world of grammar, we call these types of words homophones: words with similar spellings or pronunciation but very different meanings. If the concept of homophones sounds familiar, it’s because we use everyday homophones, such as affect/effect, principal/principle, and past/passed.

#2. Dying and dyeing are present participles of a verb (all ending with -ing). In other words, we use these types of verb forms for the present, past, and future continuous tenses (including the perfect continuous tense forms). 

• Present continuous = I am dying/dyeing
• Past continuous = She was dying/dyeing
• Future continuous = He will be dying/dyeing
• Present perfect continuous = We have been dying/dyeing
• Past perfect continuous = They had been dying/dyeing
• Future perfect continuous = It will have been dying/dyeing

Don’t forget about died vs. dyed

The verbs die and dye share the same pronunciation for their present participles, but this also occurs with their past participles: died and dyed (pronounced die-d with one syllable).

What does dieing mean?

There’s not one English dictionary that includes a definition of the verb dieing, nor would any spellchecker agree with its usage. However, some websites insist that “dieing” is the gerund of the verb die (when referencing a “die” or “die-cut machine”).

What is a die-cut machine?

A “die-cut machine” or “die-cutter” is a type of press or machine that cuts, stamps, or forms shapes from paper and other materials (often for scrapbooking, it appears). Likewise, one might use a die-cutter for stamping or engraving metals. For example,

“To make a box, Helm uses die cuts. She runs card stock or printed paper through a die-cut machine. The machine cuts the box out, and she assembles it.” — Carroll County Times

“Tesla’s Elon Musk says that by leveraging IDRA’s Giga Press die cut machine, the company was able to simplify the design for the Model 3.” — Fortune

Therefore, when someone is “dieing,” they are not coloring a piece of fabric or losing their life. Instead, they are simply creating shapes or engraving something using a “die-cut machine” (or having something made at a die shop).

Can we use dieing if it’s not a formal word?

Since “dieing” is not a recognized past participle of any verb (let alone one that could reference using a die-cutter), we recommend avoiding this term for formal writing or platforms that need to reach a broad audience’s understanding. 

What does dying mean?

The word dying is an adjective, noun, and intransitive verb that relates to the process of death or expiration. For example, 

• “I am dying of a disease.” (verb)
• “I am a dying woman.” (adjective)
• “You must care for the dying.” (noun)

According to Lexico, the verb die originates from Germanic languages, where it appeared as Old Norse deyja before making its way into Middle English. The adjective use of dying arrived later during the late 16th century. 

How to use dying as a verb?

“Dying” functions as the present participle of the verb die, which primarily means “to stop living.” You may recognize other forms of the verb with die/dies (present tense) and died (past participle). 

Example sentences:

• “The man died of a single shot to the chest.”
• “By the final act, the protagonist’s curiosity led them to die.”
• “The reality of life is that everyone dies in the end.”
• “What are the odds of dying in a game of dice?”

The verb die has several other connotations around the topic of death. For instance, the phrase “die out” means “to become extinct,” while “die-off” means “to die one after another until few or none are left.” 

Less formal usage happens to reference activities, objects, or entities. For example, we can pair the verb die with an adverb to mean “to become less loud,” or it can mean “to stop functioning” (machinery) or “run out of electric charge” (of a device).

Example sentences:

• “The rare tortoise species is slowly dying out.”
• “The mass extinction of insects will cause all life on Earth to die off.”
• “Let’s wait for the crowd to start dying down before we head out.”
• “Allergy season tends to die out by late September.”
• “Business in the local town has been dying for some time.”

Lastly, the verb die may informally mean “to be very eager for something” or emphasize how strongly someone is affected by emotion (such as “dying of boredom” or “dying to go”). 

Example sentences:

• “After reading the new comments in the AskReddit post, I was dying of embarrassment.”
• “My brother is dying to play the new Battlefield for PS4.”
• “The waiter looked as though he were dying of boredom.”

Synonyms

Checking out, croaking, deceasing, departing, ending, expiring, fading, going, kicking the bucket, parting, passing away, perishing, succumbing.

Antonyms

Breathing, coming to, existing, flourishing, lingering, living, prospering, reviving, thriving.

How to use dying as an adjective?

The adjective dying describes something as “on the point of death,” “declining,” or “completed just before death.” As an adjective, dying is synonymous with the phrase “at death’s door,” which means “nearly dead.”

Example sentences:

• “Max Rushmore feared Latin was a dying language.”
• “In the dying moments of daylight, we watched the storm approach the horizon.”
• “The couple could not avoid their dying affections.”
• “The child is comforting Benji, his dying dog.”

Synonyms

Declining, deteriorating, expiring, fading, moribund, passing away, sinking.

Antonyms

Booming, flourishing, prospering, surviving, thriving.

How to use dying as a noun?

As a mass noun, the word dying references all people or beings that are close to death. 

Example sentences:

• “Where shall we place the dying?”
• “The dying must relocate to the facility’s hospice wing.”
• “The minister finds peace in comforting the dying.”

Synonyms

Expiring, declining, fading, ill, perishing, terminal, waning.

What does dyeing mean?

Dyeing is the past participle of the verb dye, which means “to add color” or “change the color of an object by soaking it in a special solution containing dye.” Additional verb forms of dye include dye/dyes for the present tense and dyed as the past participle.

Example sentences:

• “Kids these days are dyeing their hair blonde and purple.”
• “We are dyeing the shirts pink in solidarity with our friend.”
• “It’s not uncommon for hairdressers to fire clients who repeatedly dye their hair using box colors.”
• “I can’t believe he dyed the curtains that ugly green color.”

Synonyms

Brightening, coloring, color-washing, darkening, lightening, shading, staining, tinging, tinting, painting, pigmenting, washing.

Are the words death and dying the same?

The word death is not the same as dying (or any other form of the verb die), but it is a part of the dying process. “Death” is a noun that references the result of dying, being killed, or the state of being dead. 

The noun death often appears in idioms or medical terminology, such as: 

• Death’s door: The state of a living person or animal that is close to dying. 
• Bored to death: The feeling of boredom so severe that it is lethal.
• Brain death: The complete loss of brain functioning. 
• A matter of life and death: A situation that requires action to prevent unnecessary death.

Example sentences:

• “There are several preventable diseases that can cause brain death.”
• “The heart attack, paired with lifelong diabetes, brought the patient to death’s door.”
• “The linguistics lecture left us feeling bored to death.”
• “Quitting smoking is a matter of life and death.”

Additional reading

If you enjoy learning about homophones and other commonly misspelled words, be sure to check out the following lessons on The Word Counter:

• Amount vs. number?
• Bear vs. bare?
• Cue vs. queue?
• Desert vs. dessert?
• Premier vs. premiere?

Test Yourself!

Test how well you understand the difference between dieing and dying with the following multiple-choice questions. 

1. True or false?: Dieing is a common misspelling of the word dying. 
   1. True
   2. False
2. What is the main difference between dieing and dying?
   1. Dieing and dying are different verbs
   2. Dying is a verb, adjective, and noun
   3. Dieing is not a standard English word
   4. All of the above
3. The word dieing is a _________________.
   1. Past participle of a verb
   2. Adjective
   3. Present participle of a verb
   4. None of the above
4. The word dyeing is a _________________
   1. Past participle of a verb
   2. Adjective
   3. Noun
   4. All of the above
5. One that is dying is not _____________.
   1. In a lifeless state
   2. Coloring a piece of fabric
   3. On the precipice of death
   4. Feeling well
6. Which of the following is not a synonym for the noun dying?
   1. Ill
   2. Misery
   3. Terminal
   4. Declining

Choose the correct spellings for the following sentences. 

1. “We are ___________ a batch of gold medals for track athletes.”
   1. Dying
   2. Dyeing
   3. Dieing
   4. None of the above
2. “I saw her ___________ a whole ball of yarn.”
   1. Dying
   2. Dyeing
   3. Dieing
   4. Death
3. “Students are ___________ of boredom by mid-July.”
   1. Dying
   2. Dyeing
   3. Dieing
   4. Death
4. “The vocabulary lesson bored us to ___________.”
   1. Dying
   2. Dyeing
   3. Dieing
   4. Death

Quiz Answers

1. A
2. D
3. D
4. A
5. B
6. B
7. D
8. B
9. A
10. D

Sources

“At death’s door.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., 2021.

“Die.” Lexico, Oxford University Press, 2021.

“Dye.” Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press, 2021.

“Dying.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th ed., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2021. 

“Dying.” Lexico, Oxford University Press, 2021.

“Dying.” The Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster Inc., 2021.

“Death.”Lexico, Oxford University Press, 2021.

Garner, B. “Dying; dyeing.” Garner’s Modern American Usage, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 312.

McNulty, L. “An Eye for Art: Taneytown paper crafter makes cards for any occasion, and more.” Carroll County Times, Baltimore Sun, 28 Feb 2021.

Mcelroy, N. G. “The makings of a triple threat talent pool: How universities are preparing the next generation of designers and C-suite execs.” Fortune, 24 Aug 2021.

Photo contributors: Kelly Sikkema (@kellysikkema) and Pierre Bamin (@bamin) on Unsplash.

Asked by: River Dibbert PhD

Score: 4.4/5
(6 votes)

When to Use Dying

If you are referring to death, the verb you have in mind is most likely dying. Dying is the present participle of die, i.e., to cease living. For example, Soldiers are dying for their country.

Is there such a word as dying?

Dieing is a misspelling if you are referring to death. The past participial form of die (death) is irregular, so you use dying. However, there is a specialized instance when you might use dieing and it be correct. There is a machine called a die-cut machine that cuts out shapes, letters, and numbers from paper.

Is the word dying or dieing?

Dying is most used as the present participle of the verb to die, i.e. to cease to live. … Dieing – a very uncommon word – is the present participle of the verb to die, but specifically in the sense of cutting metals with a tool called a die or die-cast machine.

What is past of die?

Died is a verb. It is the past tense and past participle tense of die. To die means to stop living.

How do you spell dying like death?

Summary

42 related questions found

If someone is passing away, then they are dying. Its origins are:

late 13c., «death,» verbal noun from die (v.). From mid-15c. as a pp. adj., «in the process of becoming dead.»

Its confusable «dieing» means:

To cut, form, or stamp with or as if with a die.

Finally, dyeing means to stain something with color, with the origins:

c.1400, verbal noun and pp. adj. from dye.

Why is dying the gerund/verb form of to die? For one thing, it follows a general rule of forming gerunds:

The vowel group -ie is changed to —y before adding -ing.

As this page also says this, it is safe to say that this is a generally accepted rule. Other similar verbs are tie and lie. It is not a special case, but I cannot find an exact date for when this rule was created. It is worth noting that, whether or not this is correct, there are early examples of the spelling dieing for dying in the 1800s. This leads to the thought that the currently accepted form is because of a spelling reform at some point in time since then.