killing
Americannoun
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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
- killingly adverb
- self-killing adjective
- unkilling adjective
Etymology
Origin of killing
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English killing(e), kyllyng(e) (gerund); 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.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is reviewing Porter’s killing, though it sometimes takes years for the agency to determine if a deadly use of force constitutes a crime.
From Los Angeles Times
California lawmakers and immigrant rights groups condemned the killing of the woman, who was identified by family as Renee Nicole Good, a wife and mother of three.
From Los Angeles Times
A year after the killing of UnitedHealth’s CEO, corporate security has changed.
But Google also had to find a way to keep generative AI from killing its golden goose—its 90% share of the web search market, the foundation of its advertising business.
Police investigators are still reviewing the circumstances of several deaths, but if the current figure holds up, it would be the fewest killings since 1966, when the population was almost 30% smaller.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
