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die down

B1 neutral intransitive
In simple words

To slowly become less strong, loud, or exciting until things go back to normal.

Literal meaning: To die in a downward direction — intensity dropping toward zero.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

Of a fire or flames: to reduce in size and intensity.

"We waited for the campfire to die down before leaving."

2 B1 neutral

Of a storm, wind, or natural event: to lose strength and become less severe.

"The storm eventually died down around midnight."

3 B1 neutral

Of noise, excitement, controversy, or public feeling: to diminish gradually and return to a calm state.

"The scandal dominated the news for a week, but it soon died down."

"When the noise died down, someone at the back started singing."

— Nick Hornby, About a Boy (1998)
Usage notes

Very common in both spoken and written English. Used for fire, wind, noise, controversy, protests, excitement. Always intransitive. Often implies that the situation was temporarily heightened.

Commonly used with

storm fire excitement controversy protest noise

Forms

Base
die down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
dies down
he/she/it
Past simple
died down
yesterday
Past participle
died down
have + pp
-ing form
diing down
continuous

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