kill
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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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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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:
“A friend will pick you up when you fall, not kill you.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
On Thursday, two members of Congress unveiled a bipartisan bill requiring makers of the most powerful AI models to build in a kill switch -- a way to unplug a model outright.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
When drug-resistant E. faecium was treated with both vancomycin and pghi-4, the antibiotic regained its ability to kill the bacteria.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Four patients demand her attention, among them a man receiving a treatment that may cure or kill him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
“If the island has been abandoned for a hundred years, it could be overrun. And not only with plants. With creatures. Creatures that can kill with a single bite.”
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Anorexia kills a higher percentage of patients than any other eating disorder, data shows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Washing or peeling can lessen the risk of infection, but cooking food to at least 158 degrees reliably kills Cyclospora.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
It is possible this vaccine carries the same risk, although this is much lower than the threat from the Bundibugyo species of Ebola which kills around a third of those infected.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Heat stress -- the name given to the hazardous build-up of body heat caused by soaring temperatures, humidity and other factors -- is one of the most common ways that weather kills people.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
I soon found out this much:—terror can be endured so long as a man simply ducks;—but it kills, if a man thinks about it.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Four U.S. service members were killed this week, bringing the total to 18 since the war began.
From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026
He said two brothers and two of their cousins were among those killed.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The two students killed were both 14 years old.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Four US service personnel killed in recent Iran-related attacks were honored this week as their remains returned to the United States in flag-draped cases.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The tamping iron has not killed him because the damage is limited to specific organs that are not critical to life.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Afonydd Cymru, which represents Wales' rivers trusts, said low river flows were causing "significant problems", killing fish and other wildlife, while farming unions warned of failing crops and heat-stressed livestock.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
But no such revival was forthcoming: The conservative movement fragmented after Kirk’s death, divided by a host of wild conspiracy theories over the “real story” behind the killing.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Whereas attacks on mariners from other countries, including Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, have been widely reported, the killing of Mexican seafarers has gone unacknowledged by the Mexican government — and largely unnoticed internationally.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
Their relationship with Max is also much more personal: Anna was Max’s pregnant lawyer in the trial where Max stood accused of killing his expectant wife, while Tom was the prosecutor.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
In our time, we read about hypothermia killing mountain climbers, or sailors who fall into cold water.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
