kill

¹

[ kil ]

verb (used with object)

1. to deprive of life in any manner; cause the death of; slay.

   Synonyms: assassinate, garrote, strangle, guillotine, behead, electrocute, hang, butcher, massacre, slaughter

2. to destroy; extinguish; do away with:

   His response killed our hopes.

3. to destroy or neutralize the active qualities of:

   to kill an odor.

4. to spoil the effect of:

   His extra brushwork killed the painting.

5. to cause (time) to be consumed with seeming rapidity or with a minimum of boredom, especially by engaging in some easy activity or amusement of passing interest:

   I had to kill three hours before plane time.

6. to spend (time) unprofitably:

   He killed ten good years on that job.

7. Informal. to overcome completely or with irresistible effect:

   That comedian kills me.

8. to muffle or deaden:

   This carpet kills the sound of footsteps.

9. Informal. to cause distress or discomfort to:

   These new shoes are killing me.

10. Informal. to tire completely; exhaust:

    The long hike killed us.

11. Informal. to consume completely:

    They killed a bottle of bourbon between them.

12. to cancel publication of (a word, paragraph, item, etc.), especially after it has been set in type.
13. to defeat or veto (a legislative bill, etc.).
14. Electricity. to render (a circuit) dead.
15. to stop the operation of (machinery, engines, etc.):

    He killed the motor and the car stopped.

16. Tennis. to hit (a ball) with such force that its return is impossible.
17. Metallurgy.
    1. to deoxidize (steel) before teeming into an ingot mold.
    2. to eliminate springiness from (wire or the like).
    3. to cold-roll (sheet metal) after final heat treatment in order to eliminate distortion.
18. Ice Hockey. to prevent the opposing team from scoring in the course of (a penalty being served by a teammate or teammates).

verb (used without object)

1. to inflict or cause death.
2. to commit murder.
3. to be killed.
4. to overcome completely; produce an irresistible effect:

   dressed to kill.

5. Slang. to feel a smarting pain, as from a minor accident; sting:

   I stubbed my little toe and that really kills.

noun

1. the act of killing, especially game:

   The hounds moved in for the kill.

2. an animal or animals killed.
3. a number or quantity killed.
4. an act or instance of hitting or destroying a target, especially an enemy aircraft.
5. the target so hit or, especially, destroyed.
6. Sports. kill shot.

verb phrase

1. 1. to destroy completely; kill, especially successively or indiscriminately:

      The invaders killed off all the inhabitants of the town.

   2. Informal. to extinguish; eliminate:

      The bus ride every day kills off all of my energy.

kill

²

[ kil ]

noun

, Chiefly New York State.

1. a channel; creek; stream; river: used especially in placenames:

   Kill Van Kull.

kill

¹

/ kɪl /

noun

1. a channel, stream, or river (chiefly as part of place names)

kill

²

/ kɪl /

verb

1. also intr; when tr, sometimes foll by off to cause the death of (a person or animal)
2. to put an end to; destroy

   to kill someone's interest

3. to make (time) pass quickly, esp while waiting for something
4. to deaden (sound)
5. informal.
   to tire out; exhaust

   the effort killed him

6. informal.
   to cause to suffer pain or discomfort

   my shoes are killing me

7. informal.
   to cancel, cut, or delete

   to kill three lines of text

8. informal.
   to quash, defeat, or veto

   the bill was killed in the House of Lords

9. informal.
   to switch off; stop

   to kill a motor

10. informal.
    also intr to overcome with attraction, laughter, surprise, etc

    his gags kill me

    she was dressed to kill

11. slang.
    to consume (alcoholic drink) entirely

    he killed three bottles of rum

12. sport to hit (a ball) so hard or so accurately that the opponent cannot return it
13. soccer to bring (a moving ball) under control; trap
14. kill oneself informal.
    to overexert oneself

    don't kill yourself

15. kill two birds with one stone
    to achieve two results with one action

noun

1. the act of causing death, esp at the end of a hunt, bullfight, etc
2. the animal or animals killed during a hunt
3. the seasonal tally of stock slaughtered at a freezing works
4. the destruction of a battleship, tank, etc
5. in at the kill
   present at the end or climax of some undertaking

Other Words From

• killa·ble adjective
• self-killed adjective
• un·killed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of kill¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English cullen, killen, kelle “to strike, beat, kill,” Old English cyllan (unattested); cognate with dialectal German küllen (Westphalian). quell

Origin of kill²

An Americanism first recorded in 1660–70; from Dutch kil, Middle Dutch kille “channel”

Word History and Origins

Origin of kill¹

C17: from Middle Dutch kille; compare Old Norse kīll small bay, creek

Origin of kill²

C13 cullen; perhaps related to Old English cwellan to kill; compare German (Westphalian dialect) küllen; see quell

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. kill with kindness, to overdo in one's efforts to be kind:

   The aunts would kill their nephews and nieces with kindness.

More idioms and phrases containing kill

• curiosity killed the cat
• dressed to kill
• fit to kill
• in at the death (kill)
• make a killing

Synonym Study

Kill, execute, murder all mean to deprive of life. Kill is the general word, with no implication of the manner of killing, the agent or cause, or the nature of what is killed (whether human being, animal, or plant): to kill a person. Execute is used with reference to the putting to death of one in accordance with a legal sentence, no matter what the means are: to execute a criminal. Murder is used of killing a human being unlawfully: He murdered him for his money.

Example Sentences

Mrs MacDonald told the court: "He would say I'm going to kill him, I’m going to bloody kill him for ruining my life".

From BBC

Earlier, Mr MacDonald's wife told the court that her husband threatened to kill an osteopath he claimed had ruined his life by making a back injury worse.

From BBC

NumbersUSA ran a grassroots robo-fax campaign that helped kill George W. Bush’s bipartisan immigration overhaul.

From Salon

“It’s a beautiful plant,” he says, “sturdy and hard to kill.”

From Los Angeles Times

Because isn’t that what beauty is, in all of its prismatic totality — hard to kill, always in bloom?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assassinate
• drown
• execute
• get
• hit
• massacre
• murder
• poison
• slaughter
• slay
• wipe out