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
Derived Forms
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.
“You can be the world’s best weightlifter. You can have a low body-fat percentage. You can be killing it at work. Those things don’t predict how happy you’re going to be at 80.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
But when it was time to vote, another female Republican state lawmaker made a motion that ultimately succeeded at killing the bill in committee.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2026
A visit to Odesa and Kyiv reveals a country anxious to stop the killing and determined to keep living.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called the killing "an evil murder made so much worse by the police response" but said we must avoid attempts to politicise the death and "divide our country".
From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026
“Danvers think the Gantrys are killing their sheep.”
From "Worth" by A. LaFaye
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.
