die for

die for (someone or something)

1. To die in order to save or help someone else. I would die for my wife if it would save her from danger.
2. To die for a particular cause or thing. How devoted are you to your religious beliefs? Are you willing to die for them?
3. To desire or long for someone or something in particular. Always used in the continuous tense. I'm just dying for a nap—I can hardly keep my eyes open.
See also: die
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

die for someone or something

 
1. Lit. to perish for the benefit or glory of someone or something. He said he was willing to die for his country. She would die for her child if necessary.
2. Fig. to experience great physical or emotional desire for someone or something. He was just dying for Jane, but she would have nothing to do with him. Freddie was dying for a glass of water—he was so thirsty.
See also: die
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

die for

Also, be dying for. Long for, desire excessively, as in I'm dying for some ice cream. This hyperbolic usage dates from the late 1500s. Also see die to.
See also: die
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • die for (someone or something)
  • die by
  • die by (something)
  • it's to die
  • die with (one's) boots on
  • die with one's boots on
  • die with your boots on
  • to die for
  • fixing to die
  • perish from (something)
References in periodicals archive
An Experimental Die For Measuring Castability Of Die Casting Alloys (T05-082)
During development, many dies initially leave waves in the profile, as shown in the accompanying photo of the first trial run of a die for a cable tray and cover.
5 and 6), and an unbalanced die for a pipe seal made of SBR (ref.
Why should we delay establishing a legal right to die for terminally ill patients for whom death is inevitably imminent because we don't yet have a right to adequate health care?
Bolt threads used for die assembly, in addition to these components, should be lubricated during die preparation, prior to preheating the die for coating.
Competitor Quill Tool & Engineering built its first five-layer coex die for medical tubing last year.
A single cavity die for that machine with no slides and simple geometry will run $50,000.
A second nine-layer system is under construction, along with the first 10-layer die for Brampton's own R&D lab.
So you buy a die for today's needs and just hope it runs tomorrow's products.
His company will upgrade a monolayer line with two additional extruders, controls, and a 20-in., oscillating, three-layer die for $400,000 - less than half the cost of a brand-new line.