death metal

noun

: a type of heavy metal music that is characterized by the use of dark, violent, or gory imagery

Examples of death metal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Everything but death metal and gangster rap. — Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 22 Feb. 2026 The band has further expanded on their sound in ways that broaden their target audience but don’t hide their old-school thrash and death metal influences. — Quentin Thane Singer, Forbes.com, 23 Feb. 2026 Montana attained some fame in the early- to mid-1980s as a guitarist for the pioneering death metal band Possessed. — Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025 In between their trips to visit national parks together, the couple enjoyed attending death metal concerts and collecting crystals. — Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for death metal

Word History

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of death metal was in 1984

Rhymes for death metal

See All Rhymes for death metal

Browse Nearby Words

death mask
death metal
death penalty
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Death metal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20metal. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All