D defs.my
Entry 2 senses Webster, 1913

death knell

· death· knell · IPA /dɛθ nɛl/
01 n. A stroke or tolling of a bell, announcing a death; a knell{1}.
  1. 1.
    A stroke or tolling of a bell, announcing a death; a knell{1}.
  2. 2.
    A sign or harbinger of the end, death, or passing away of anything.(figuratively)