kill
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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kills,
present (3rd person singular)
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killed,
past participle, past
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killing
present participle
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to deprive of life in any manner; cause the death of; slay.
- Synonyms:
- assassinate, garrote, strangle, guillotine, behead, electrocute, hang, butcher, massacre, slaughter
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to destroy; extinguish; do away with.
His response killed our hopes.
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to destroy or neutralize the active qualities of.
to kill an odor.
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to spoil the effect of.
His extra brushwork killed the painting.
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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.
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to spend (time) unprofitably.
He killed ten good years on that job.
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Informal. to overcome completely or with irresistible effect.
That comedian kills me.
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to muffle or deaden.
This carpet kills the sound of footsteps.
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Informal. to cause distress or discomfort to.
These new shoes are killing me.
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Informal. to tire completely; exhaust.
The long hike killed us.
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Informal. to consume completely.
They killed a bottle of bourbon between them.
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to cancel publication of (a word, paragraph, item, etc.), especially after it has been set in type.
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to defeat or veto (a legislative bill, etc.).
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Electricity. to render (a circuit) dead.
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to stop the operation of (machinery, engines, etc.).
He killed the motor and the car stopped.
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Tennis. to hit (a ball) with such force that its return is impossible.
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Metallurgy.
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to deoxidize (steel) before teeming into an ingot mold.
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to eliminate springiness from (wire or the like).
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to cold-roll (sheet metal) after final heat treatment in order to eliminate distortion.
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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)
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kills,
present (3rd person singular)
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killed,
past participle, past
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killing
present participle
-
to inflict or cause death.
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to commit murder.
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to be killed.
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to overcome completely; produce an irresistible effect.
dressed to kill.
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Slang. to feel a smarting pain, as from a minor accident; sting.
I stubbed my little toe and that really kills.
noun
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the act of killing, especially game.
The hounds moved in for the kill.
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an animal or animals killed.
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a number or quantity killed.
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an act or instance of hitting or destroying a target, especially an enemy aircraft.
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the target so hit or, especially, destroyed.
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Sports. kill shot.
verb phrase
idioms
noun
verb
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(also intr; when tr, sometimes foll by off) to cause the death of (a person or animal)
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to put an end to; destroy
to kill someone's interest
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to make (time) pass quickly, esp while waiting for something
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to deaden (sound)
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informal to tire out; exhaust
the effort killed him
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informal to cause to suffer pain or discomfort
my shoes are killing me
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informal to cancel, cut, or delete
to kill three lines of text
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informal to quash, defeat, or veto
the bill was killed in the House of Lords
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informal to switch off; stop
to kill a motor
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informal (also intr) to overcome with attraction, laughter, surprise, etc
she was dressed to kill
his gags kill me
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slang to consume (alcoholic drink) entirely
he killed three bottles of rum
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sport to hit (a ball) so hard or so accurately that the opponent cannot return it
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soccer to bring (a moving ball) under control; trap
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informal to overexert oneself
don't kill yourself
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to achieve two results with one action
noun
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the act of causing death, esp at the end of a hunt, bullfight, etc
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the animal or animals killed during a hunt
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the seasonal tally of stock slaughtered at a freezing works
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the destruction of a battleship, tank, etc
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present at the end or climax of some undertaking
noun
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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killsimple
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killssimple
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have killedperfect
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has killedperfect
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am killingprogressive
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are killingprogressive
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is killingprogressive
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have been killingperfect progressive
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has been killingperfect progressive
Past
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killedsimple
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had killedperfect
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was killingprogressive
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were killingprogressive
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had been killingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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). Cf. quell
Origin of kill2
An Americanism first recorded in 1660–70; from Dutch kil, Middle Dutch kille “channel”
Explanation
To kill is to end the life of some living being or something else. So, you could kill a deer by shooting it with a hunting rifle or kill a bill by voting against it. Hunters kill animals for their meat, and drivers sometimes kill an animal accidentally, or inadvertently kill a plant, simply by forgetting to water it. Certain inanimate things are also said to kill, like poison or disease or drunk driving. In each of these cases, death is caused and life is taken. You can also kill figuratively, as when a school board kills the foreign language program or a thunderstorm kills your hopes of a picnic.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Pesticides are of particular interest because some chemicals used to kill insects or other agricultural pests can also interfere with biological processes in the nervous system.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
Because these proteins can disrupt bacterial membranes and kill cells, researchers are investigating whether they could be adapted into new antimicrobial treatments.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 31, 2026
Doomers have quit the labs and warned that self-improving AI might kill us all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
On set, the two had trailers that were next door to each other, and with time to kill between filming, they would head next door and chat for hours.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
And I could not kill or trap any longer.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
But I saw a photograph of Woody Guthrie, and he’s holding a guitar, and it says, “This machine kills fascists.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
"It kills me that the worst day of my life was just a normal Wednesday for everyone else," he says.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Compared with other illnesses, the plague isn’t much of a problem these days: Each year the regular old flu kills many thousands of people in the United States alone.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
However, cardiovascular disease kills nearly 20 million people around the world each year, with atherosclerosis responsible for most of those deaths.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
‘It’s the bag that kills me,’ she says.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Shohei Ohtani being dead set on chasing the Cy Young Award killed the Dodgers’ chances at a three-peat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026
Families of those killed say there must be a public and transparent probe.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Before the vaccine was developed in the early 1960s, measles killed hundreds of children each year in the US.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
A lithium-ion battery from an e-bike sparked a fire on the 11th floor of a residential tower in the Bronx last week, which killed four people, including an 11-year-old child.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
The scouts set out to deliver the message, paddling fifteen hours through choppy waters patrolled by the Japanese military, knowing they’d be killed if caught helping Americans.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
A virus capable of killing one strain of bacteria may have little or no effect on another.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026
I’m of the mind that erroneously killing one person in the name of justice is one too many — that the death penalty is an unacceptable risk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
"AI is killing the 'pyramid' approach…progression is no longer based on your knowledge bank. Now it's more based on your critical thinking and understanding of the processes," says Clinton.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has previously said that officials were reviewing the off-base code of conduct for US troops in Japan following the alleged killing.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
“I don’t entirely believe there is one. I mean...the tsar’s spent years and years hunting down all the magical creatures in Kievan Rus’ and either killing them or driving them out.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
