Dieing or Dying – Which is Correct?

/ September 12, 2017/ Usage

What’s the Difference Between Dieing and Dying?

Dieing and dying might seem like alternate spellings of the same word. However, they are merely homophones, meaning that they have the same pronunciation but different definitions.

Dieing is the gerund or progressive form of the verb die, meaning to cut with a die. In this sense, die means a device to cut material in a stamping or forging machine.

• The factory workers are dieing the material now.

Dying is the gerund or progressive form of the verb die, meaning to expire or to cease to live.

• Many children around the world are dying from starvation and preventable diseases.

Let’s look at how to use these words in context.

Using Dieing in a Sentence

When to use dieing: Dieing can act as a gerund or the progressive form of the verb die. However, it can’t have just any definition of die. It specifically only means the type of die that means forming or cutting material by stamping or forging it in a machine.

For example:

• The counterfeit moneymakers bought a tool for dieing their fake money.
• It is very hard to find that car part, since all the machines used for dieing that part have stopped production.

This definition of die is much less common than the definition of die relating to death. Therefore, many people often use dieing as an incorrect spelling of dying. Remember that dieing is so rarely used that you likely will never need to write it at all.

Using Dying in a Sentence

When to use dying: Dying is also the gerund or progressive form of the verb die with the definition relating to no longer being alive.

For example:

• She has a very serious disease and many doctors are trying to treat her. However, she is dying nonetheless.
• Many bee species all over the world are dying in great numbers, and scientists are confused as to why.

In addition to the primary definition of dying, meaning ceasing to live, other definitions include ceasing to exist, ceasing to function, or to subside gradually. People can use dying literally, or figuratively, such as in the expression dying of love.

Remembering Dieing vs.Dying

Although you will probably never need to use the word dieing, it is still important to remember the difference between each word. This is so that you never accidentally try to speak of death by using the spelling dieing. To do this, you can use the spelling of each word in a mnemonic device.

A die can be a machine or device that cuts, forges, or stamps materials. Both machine and device have an i and an e near the end of the word, just like dieing.

Alternatively, you could remember that dying contains a y. The letter y sounds like the word why. Many people wonder why death is a necessary part of life.

Outside Examples

Dieing is so uncommon that it does not appear in recent news articles, except occasionally as a misspelling of dying.

• The novel is constructed as a series of fragments involving Z, yes, but also his Palestinian counterpart, as well as a former general and prime minister of Israel who lies dying in a coma (think Ariel Sharon). –LA Times
• Pasek then fell into the lamppost attached to the live wire. Pasek’s friend moved closer to help, but Pasek warned him away. “He said, ‘Don’t touch me. I’m dying,'” according to his mother, JoDell Pasek, who lost her other son to a drunk driver in the 1990s. –Chicago Tribune
• Patrick Saunders’ dying wish was to pet and feed a horse one last time. –New York Post
• But the chairman has emphatically denied that the ordinance he muscled through committee was a payback for campaign contributions received from a dying industry. –Chicago Sun Times

Quiz: Dying vs. Dieing

Instructions: Fill in the blank with the correct word, either dying or dieing, in the correct form.

1. Manufacturers use a tool for _____________ the threads of a bolt.
2. I’m ____________ to see you over Thanksgiving break! I honestly can’t wait!
3. ____________ from drug overdoses is all too common, and this organization seeks to find solutions to that problem.

See answers below.

Article Summary

Should I use dieing or dying? Most people can go their whole lives only using one of these spellings.

• Dieing is a technical term that is rarely used meaning stamping or forging a material. It is also a common misspelling of dying, when people wish to use the progressive verb form of die in the sense of death.
• Dying can be either a gerund or the progressive form of the verb die, meaning ceasing to live.

Use the information from this article to keep these two similar words straight in your mind.

Answers

1. dieing
2. dying
3. Dying