kill off
Idioms-
Render extinct, eliminate completely, as in The plague killed off entire villages and towns . [c. 1600]
-
Represent as dead, as in This mystery writer kills off a new victim in almost every chapter . [Mid-1800s]
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.
By definition, it has not been pasteurized, the simple process of heating milk to kill off harmful bacteria.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Just look at how long it took to finally kill off the penny.
From Barron's ● Apr. 6, 2026
Smog, however, could kill off a spinach crop in half a day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
Filmmakers and critics fretted, reasonably, that a Netflix acquisition would kill off the moviegoing experience for good, in light of Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos’ professed antipathy toward theater-exclusive releases.
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2026
I tried for at least two years to kill off that “Black Muslims.”
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
