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View synonyms for kill

kill

1

[ kil ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to deprive of life in any manner; cause the death of; slay.

    Synonyms: assassinate, garrote, strangle, guillotine, behead, electrocute, hang, butcher, massacre, slaughter

  2. His response killed our hopes.

  3. to destroy or neutralize the active qualities of:

    to kill an odor.

  4. to spoil the effect of:

    His extra brushwork killed the painting.

  5. 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.

  6. to spend (time) unprofitably:

    He killed ten good years on that job.

  7. Informal. to overcome completely or with irresistible effect:

    That comedian kills me.

  8. to muffle or deaden:

    This carpet kills the sound of footsteps.

  9. Informal. to cause distress or discomfort to:

    These new shoes are killing me.

  10. Informal. to tire completely; exhaust:

    The long hike killed us.

  11. Informal. to consume completely:

    They killed a bottle of bourbon between them.

  12. to cancel publication of (a word, paragraph, item, etc.), especially after it has been set in type.
  13. to defeat or veto (a legislative bill, etc.).
  14. Electricity. to render (a circuit) dead.
  15. to stop the operation of (machinery, engines, etc.):

    He killed the motor and the car stopped.

  16. Tennis. to hit (a ball) with such force that its return is impossible.
  17. Metallurgy.
    1. to deoxidize (steel) before teeming into an ingot mold.
    2. to eliminate springiness from (wire or the like).
    3. to cold-roll (sheet metal) after final heat treatment in order to eliminate distortion.
  18. 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)

  1. to inflict or cause death.
  2. to commit murder.
  3. to be killed.
  4. to overcome completely; produce an irresistible effect:

    dressed to kill.

  5. Slang. to feel a smarting pain, as from a minor accident; sting:

    I stubbed my little toe and that really kills.

noun

  1. the act of killing, especially game:

    The hounds moved in for the kill.

  2. an animal or animals killed.
  3. a number or quantity killed.
  4. an act or instance of hitting or destroying a target, especially an enemy aircraft.
  5. the target so hit or, especially, destroyed.
  6. Sports. kill shot.

verb phrase

    1. to destroy completely; kill, especially successively or indiscriminately:

      The invaders killed off all the inhabitants of the town.

    2. Informal. to extinguish; eliminate:

      The bus ride every day kills off all of my energy.

kill

2

[ kil ]

noun

, Chiefly New York State.
  1. a channel; creek; stream; river: used especially in placenames:

    Kill Van Kull.

kill

1

/ kɪl /

noun

  1. a channel, stream, or river (chiefly as part of place names)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


kill

2

/ kɪl /

verb

  1. also intr; when tr, sometimes foll by off to cause the death of (a person or animal)
  2. to put an end to; destroy

    to kill someone's interest

  3. to make (time) pass quickly, esp while waiting for something
  4. to deaden (sound)
  5. informal.
    to tire out; exhaust

    the effort killed him

  6. informal.
    to cause to suffer pain or discomfort

    my shoes are killing me

  7. informal.
    to cancel, cut, or delete

    to kill three lines of text

  8. informal.
    to quash, defeat, or veto

    the bill was killed in the House of Lords

  9. informal.
    to switch off; stop

    to kill a motor

  10. informal.
    also intr to overcome with attraction, laughter, surprise, etc

    his gags kill me

    she was dressed to kill

  11. slang.
    to consume (alcoholic drink) entirely

    he killed three bottles of rum

  12. sport to hit (a ball) so hard or so accurately that the opponent cannot return it
  13. soccer to bring (a moving ball) under control; trap
  14. kill oneself informal.
    to overexert oneself

    don't kill yourself

  15. kill two birds with one stone
    to achieve two results with one action
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the act of causing death, esp at the end of a hunt, bullfight, etc
  2. the animal or animals killed during a hunt
  3. the seasonal tally of stock slaughtered at a freezing works
  4. the destruction of a battleship, tank, etc
  5. in at the kill
    present at the end or climax of some undertaking
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Words From

  • killa·ble adjective
  • self-killed adjective
  • un·killed adjective
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Word History and Origins

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). quell

Origin of kill2

An Americanism first recorded in 1660–70; from Dutch kil, Middle Dutch kille “channel”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of kill1

C17: from Middle Dutch kille; compare Old Norse kīll small bay, creek

Origin of kill2

C13 cullen; perhaps related to Old English cwellan to kill; compare German (Westphalian dialect) küllen; see quell
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. kill with kindness, to overdo in one's efforts to be kind:

    The aunts would kill their nephews and nieces with kindness.

More idioms and phrases containing kill

  • curiosity killed the cat
  • dressed to kill
  • fit to kill
  • in at the death (kill)
  • make a killing
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Synonym Study

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.
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Example Sentences

Warren first began thinking about how brands and gamers overlap in 2011, when he started a gaming-focused media company called Kill Screen.

From Digiday

As the coronavirus continues to infect millions and kill hundreds of thousands in the United States, returning kids to their scholastic normalcy is proving to be a halting, difficult process.

It also stops mice from squeaking, mostly because a good shot of it will kill a mouse.

Republicans have pushed back heavily against the $15 minimum-wage proposal, saying it would kill jobs and hurt small businesses.

Specifically because this was where, in 1954, Pedro Rodrigues Filho, later called “Killer Petey,” was born with a bruised skull, thanks to all the times his father tried to kill his mother while she was pregnant with him.

From Ozy

Without it, they say, the disease would surely kill her within two years.

That ground hold was to stop you flying through weather that could kill you and everyone else aboard.

Even a relatively small 250-pound bomb could kill or injure friendly troops who are within 650 feet of the explosion.

What responsibility was taken by cops when they kill unjustly?

By the way, I saw Good Kill at Venice and really enjoyed it.

It was little better than coal dust, and would not carry a ball fifty paces to kill or wound.

He could not bear to open his dreadful situation to his Uncle David, nor to kill himself, nor to defy the vengeance of Longcluse.

At last his anxiety reached a point where he was positive that if he received an adverse decision, it would surely kill him.

It was a very dangerous one, too, and sometimes lives were sacrificed in his efforts to capture or to kill this fierce wild beast.

Soldiers called out, and they gave two unfortunates leaden food enough to kill them.

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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.

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