death knell

American  

noun

1. a harbinger of the end, death, or destruction of something.

2. passing bell.

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death knell British  

noun

1. something that heralds death or destruction

2. a bell rung to announce a death

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death knell Idioms  

1. Something that indicates impending failure, as in His low scores sounded the death knell for his ambitions. The noun knell, used for the ringing of a bell since at least a.d. 1000, is rarely heard today except in this figurative phrase.

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Example Sentences

Expectations for dividend cuts are typically a death knell for stocks.

From Barron's

It announced, Ms. Newman writes, the “death knell to any remaining attachment to the inherited ideals of the Greek notion of beauty.”

From The Wall Street Journal

And he warned the chancellor's Budget would "be the death knell to the British pub".

From BBC

R360 'would be death knell for club rugby around the world'

From BBC

Now its crash was like a death knell.

From The Wall Street Journal