Mounting madness after old woman abandoned ship - escaping death (3)
I believe the answer is:
end
'death' is the definition.
(synonyms)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for end that I've seen before include "Completion" , "Cessation, conclusion" , "Bring to a conclusion" , "Finish, close" , "ambition" .)