killing field

[ kil-ing feeld ]

noun

1. a site of indiscriminate and cruel killing of large numbers of people, especially a place of wartime genocide:

   The concentration camps of Germany and the killing fields of Cambodia are graphic displays of the presence of evil in our world.

2. a dangerous place where an excessive number of people have died, as by murder, riots, or drug overdose:

   Some 300 lives are violently ended each year on the killing fields of New York's streets and sidewalks, about half of them pedestrians or cyclists.

Word History and Origins

Origin of killing field¹

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

Let us resolve that half a century and more of this country as a killing field is more than enough.

From The Daily Beast

A public school in Brazil became a killing field last week as a young man killed 12, targeting girls.

From The Daily Beast

Sherwood Forest, for instance, is a killing field of accentual integrity.

From The Daily Beast