murieron

Murieron is the third-person plural form of the Spanish verb morir in the pretérito perfecto simple (simple past), meaning "they died." It is used to report that multiple people or animals died at a definite point in the past. Morir is irregular in this tense; the full pretérito conjugation is: yo morí, tú moriste, él/ella/usted murió, nosotros morimos, vosotros moristeis, ellos/ellas/ustedes murieron. The forms murió and murieron illustrate the stem changes of this irregular verb in the past tense.

In usage, murieron appears in narratives, journalism, and everyday speech to convey fatalities. Because morir is intransitive, murieron does not take a direct object; it describes the death of the subject. It can be accompanied by place or cause, for example, "Murieron en el accidente" (They died in the accident) or "Murieron de hambre" (They died of hunger). In more formal or euphemistic contexts, fallecieron is often used as a synonym.

Etymology and notes: Morir derives from Latin morī, and murieron forms part of the standard Spanish conjugation of this irregular verb in the past tense. The third-person forms murió and murieron show the characteristic irregular stem alternation in this verb family. While murieron is common in informal and formal writing alike, writers may choose fallecieron in contexts requiring a more formal register or sensitivity around discussing death.