killing
Americannoun
-
the act of a person or thing that kills.
-
the total game killed on a hunt.
-
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
-
Tuberculosis was a killing disease well into the 20th century, and society found itself with few remedies.
-
exhausting.
An ever-expanding workload is imperceptible at first, but eventually we're operating at a killing pace.
-
Informal. irresistibly funny.
-
Slang. very attractive or fascinating.
The actress is known for her outstanding beauty and killing smile.
adjective
-
informal very tiring; exhausting
a killing pace
-
informal extremely funny; hilarious
-
causing death; fatal
noun
-
the act of causing death; slaying
-
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:
The killing of Chelsea Yasser has been described by the podcasters as the "White Whale", of Moby Dick fame, given how long it has haunted investigators.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
In November 2022, a Ukrainian air-defence missile fell on the Polish village of Przewodow, killing two people.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Ruiz’s killing is a painful reminder that state and local police have been left out of the conversation about violence and accountability.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
On his June 2026 song “We Know the Truth,” he rejected allegations connecting him to the killing and said he learned after arriving to perform at the festival that someone had been stabbed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
“No, no, no. It’s the wet and chill that’s killing us. The rain comes right into my tent and I sleep shivering every night.”
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
The LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide division has taken over the investigation into the killings, Garcia said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
After the 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and other high-profile police killings, activists demanded that departments adopt the cameras.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Thirty years later, residents in Chillenden say they can never forget the killings.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
In the killings that occurred between January and June 26, only 16 indictments were filed, amounting to just 12.3 percent of cases, according to the Abraham Initiatives.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
The movement regularly holds protests against police killings of African Americans and against such issues as racial profiling, police brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
