give up the ghost
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Each night before the day when the roast for the royal table burns, or a capon gives up the ghost or Her Majesty the Queen has stomach ~ ache.
How many millions similar to him have given up the ghost of ambition or had it driven out of them?
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Euphemism (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “give up the ghost” mean?
Euphemism for die.
Is “give up the ghost” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.