Phrase guide

be gathered to one's fathers

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: /biː ˈɡæðəd tuː wʌnz ˈfɑːðəz/
  • General-American: /bi ˈɡæðɚd tə wʌnz ˈfɑðɚz/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To be buried together with one's forebears; hence, to die.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, literary

Topics: biblical, lifestyle, religion

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: be gathered to one's people, be laid unto one's fathers, be put to one's fathers, sleep with one's fathers, assume room temperature, auger in, be called home, be gathered to one's fathers, be like the the One, be no more, be with Jesus, be with the Lord, bite the big one, bite the biscuit, bite the dust, buy the farm, buy it, cark it, cash in, cash in one's chips, check out, close one's eyes for the last time, code, conk out, croak, cross over, cross the Great Divide, cross the Styx, darken, decease, decompose, dematerialize, depart, disincarnate, draw one's last breath, drop off the hooks, exit, expire, fall off the twig, flatline, forfare, give one's all, give up the ghost, go for a burton, go out, go over to the majority, go the way of all flesh, go the way of the dinosaurs, go the way of the dodo, go the way of the dodo bird, go to glory, go to one's reward, go west, hand in one's checks, hand in one's dinner pail, hop the twig, join the choir invisible, keel over, kick the bucket, kick off, knock off, liquidate, lose the number of one's mess, meet one's doom, meet one's end, meet one's maker, pass, pass away, pass in one's checks, pass in one's marble, pass on, pass over, pass the river, pay nature's debt, pay the debt of nature, peg out, perish, pop off, pop one's clogs, push up daisies, shuffle off this mortal coil, sink, slip away, snuff it, succumb, take a dirt nap, turn up one's toes, yield up the ghost

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From various passages in the Bible, including Judges 2:10, and 1 Maccabees 2:69 in the Apocrypha (see the quotations), from From Biblical Hebrew נֶאֱסַף אֶל־אֲבוֹתָיו (neʾĕsap ʾel-ʾăḇôṯâw) and Koine Greek προσετέθη πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας αὐτοῦ (prosetéthē pròs toùs patéras autoû, Apocrypha).

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Hebrew: נֶאֱסָף אֶל אֲבוֹתָיו (ne'esaf el avotav) — to be buried together with one's forebears — see also die
  • Hungarian: megtér őseihez — to be buried together with one's forebears — see also die
  • Swedish: samlas till sina fäder — to be buried together with one's forebears — see also die
  • Swedish: gå till sina fäder — to be buried together with one's forebears — see also die