Meaning & use
cheated death
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiom
to survive a situation that could easily have caused your death
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase with no object: 'She cheated death in the crash.' Do not add 'from' or 'of'.
Patterns
- cheat death
- cheated death in something
- cheated death by doing something
The pilot cheated death when the engine failed but he managed to land the plane safely.
After the avalanche, the climbers felt they had cheated death.
She cheated death twice: once in a car accident and once during a serious illness.
Word forms
| third person singular | cheats death |
|---|---|
| past tense | cheated death |
| past participle | cheated death |
| -ing form | cheating death |
Common combinations
- narrowly cheat death
- The family narrowly cheated death when their house collapsed.
- cheat death again
- The stuntman cheated death again during the live show.
- cheat death by inches
- The sailor cheated death by inches when the mast broke.
- feel like you have cheated death
- After the earthquake, many survivors felt like they had cheated death.
Synonyms and how they differ
- survive
- This is a general word for continuing to live after danger; 'cheat death' is more dramatic and suggests you escaped when death seemed certain.
- escape death
- Similar, but 'escape death' often suggests you got away from a specific deadly event, while 'cheat death' emphasizes luck or a narrow escape.
Opposites
Commonly confused: cheated death or cheat on?
cheated death vs cheat on
This means to be unfaithful to a partner or to break a rule secretly. 'Cheat death' has nothing to do with dishonesty; it means to survive.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cheated death' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Cheated death' is a fixed phrase meaning 'survived a deadly situation'. It does not take 'from' or 'of', and it cannot mean 'cheated in order to do something'. Option B correctly uses 'by doing something' to explain how she survived.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cheated death”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.