Meaning & use
cheating death
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiomfigurative
Narrowly avoiding death, especially when it seemed certain or happened more than once.
Grammar: Used as a fixed phrase, usually after verbs such as 'cheat', 'escape' or 'defy': he cheated death twice.
Patterns
- cheat death
- escape death
- defy death
The pilot cheated death when his plane crashed into the sea and he swam to shore.
After two serious illnesses, she felt she had cheated death and decided to change her life.
Stories about cheating death have fascinated people for centuries.
Common combinations
- cheat death
- He cheated death in the crash and walked away without a scratch.
- escape death
- The family escaped death when the fire spread to the next room.
- defy death
- The climber seemed to defy death on the icy slope.
- cheat death again
- The soldier cheated death again during his second tour.
Synonyms and how they differ
- survive
- This is the plain, factual word for staying alive; 'cheating death' is more dramatic and suggests luck or a narrow escape.
- escape death
- This focuses on getting away from a deadly situation, while 'cheating death' often suggests you tricked or outsmarted it.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cheating death' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
The phrase means narrowly avoiding death, so the car missing her by inches fits. The other options describe ordinary or harmless actions that do not involve real danger of dying.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cheating death”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.