the ship struck upon a sand, and ... the sea broke over her in such a manner that we expected we should all have perished immediately; and we were immediately driven into our close quarters, to shelter us from the very foam and spray of the sea.
If a substance or material perishes, it starts to fall to pieces and becomes useless. Their tyres are slowly perishing. = disintegrate + perished per·ished tattered pieces of ancient, perished leather
pass from physical life and lose all all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life; "She died from cancer"; "They children perished in the fire"; "The patient went peacefully"
To be destroyed; to pass away; to become nothing; to be lost; to die; hence, to wither; to waste away
If people or animals perish, they die as a result of very harsh conditions or as the result of an accident. Most of the butterflies perish in the first frosts of autumn