killing
Americannoun
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killings
plural
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the act of a person or thing that kills.
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the total game killed on a hunt.
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Informal. a quick and unusually large profit or financial gain.
We would all like to win the lottery or make a killing in the stock market.
adjective
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Tuberculosis was a killing disease well into the 20th century, and society found itself with few remedies.
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exhausting.
An ever-expanding workload is imperceptible at first, but eventually we're operating at a killing pace.
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Informal. irresistibly funny.
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Slang. very attractive or fascinating.
The actress is known for her outstanding beauty and killing smile.
adjective
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informal very tiring; exhausting
a killing pace
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informal extremely funny; hilarious
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causing death; fatal
noun
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the act of causing death; slaying
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informal a sudden stroke of success, usually financial, as in speculations on the stock market (esp in the phrase make a killing )
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of killing
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English killing(e), kyllyng(e) (gerund); see kill 1, -ing 1, -ing 2
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:
Ghana's government has condemned the killing and said it was following the case closely to ensure justice.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Croft added that he had woken up on Saturday "with a light sense that I don't have to keep the secret anymore. It's been killing me".
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
India has vowed "swift action" after a cheetah was shot dead, the first such killing since the country began reintroducing the animals in 2022, the government said Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
“The Reckoning” identifies Marlowe’s parallel career in espionage as the likely cause of his killing at Deptford on the south bank of the Thames.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
“Badwa said whatever was really killing Lkossans would come from him,” said Ekon.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
The nature of the killings gave a clue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
When Hochman took office, he put McKinney in charge of specialized prosecutions, giving him oversight of a wide range of cases, including cop killings, juvenile crimes, gang homicides and child abuse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Mark Thompson from the victims' group Relatives For Justice said he feared the bill could lead to unlawful killings being covered up by the state.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
The claimants said that after the killings, the London Bullion Market Association should have withheld stamp of approval for a Tanzanian mine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
“Something that wants the blame for the killings to go to Adiah.”
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
