death ray

noun

1. a hypothetical ray that destroys life from a distance.

death ray

noun

1. an imaginary ray capable of killing

Word History and Origins

Origin of death ray¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

Our longstanding fear, it seems, turns out to be about as valid as the death ray deployed by Buck Rogers in comic strips.

From The Daily Beast

One of them was the terrible electric death-ray, capable of destroying anything in its path.

From Project Gutenberg

Unless the three men missing from the construction camp had died of it, however, it was not to be considered a death ray.

From Project Gutenberg

Teuxical, as I understand it, just gave you a slight shock with his death-ray device.

From Project Gutenberg

The gray scales had turned dead black in the area where the death-ray had struck him.

From Project Gutenberg

They have that death ray, but it's not quite as deadly as we might have feared, solely because our ships could outmaneuver them.

From Project Gutenberg