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View synonyms for killing

killing

[ kil-ing ]

noun

  1. the act of a person or thing that kills.
  2. the total game killed on a hunt.
  3. 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

  1. Tuberculosis was a killing disease well into the 20th century, and society found itself with few remedies.

  2. exhausting:

    An ever-expanding workload is imperceptible at first, but eventually we're operating at a killing pace.

  3. Informal. irresistibly funny.
  4. Slang. very attractive or fascinating:

    The actress is known for her outstanding beauty and killing smile.

killing

/ ˈkɪlɪŋ /

adjective

  1. informal.
    very tiring; exhausting

    a killing pace

  2. informal.
    extremely funny; hilarious
  3. causing death; fatal
“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; slaying
  2. informal.
    a sudden stroke of success, usually financial, as in speculations on the stock market (esp in the phrase make a killing )
“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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Derived Forms

  • ˈkillingly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • kill·ing·ly adverb
  • self-kill·ing adjective
  • un·kill·ing adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of killing1

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English killing(e), kyllyng(e) (gerund); kill 1, -ing 1, -ing 2
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Example Sentences

Taylor’s killing has raised public attention about no-knock warrants and about search warrants in general.

From Vox

Saltwater washed into an area that had been freshwater only, killing 4,000 acres of vegetation — an area equal to more than 3,000 football fields.

Trump falsely suggests he had something to do with the decision to send the National Guard into Minneapolis amid violence and protests of the killing of George Floyd in police custody.

Adegbile had argued in a brief that Mumia Abu-Jamal, a death-row inmate convicted of killing a police officer, had been victimized by racially biased jury selection.

While those criticisms have been leveled at other industries since the killing of George Floyd in May, few have given their critics as much cause for concern as agencies.

From Digiday

In the first episode, an officer is shown video of himself shooting and killing a man.

The gunman hardly broke stride as he nonetheless shot Merabet in the head, killing him.

Ass-kicking, bad guy-killing Carter is just a future spinster.

And similar shards of enthusiasm-killing kryptonite are lodged in John Kasich, Mike Pence and Ted Cruz.

But the act of killing herself done, the message was sent, and heard, and things started changing.

That, and a range war that grew out of the killing, and some kind of a business deal just about broke them.

The Taube has been bothering us again, but wound up its manœuvres very decently by killing some fish for our dinner.

It's a big chunk of money, and a little thing like killing a man or two won't trouble them.

Sometimes a horseman may succeed in killing him by cutting across his undeviating course.

However, I am bound to admit that it is a first-rate country for sport—also for killing Englishmen.

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