penalty killer

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noun Ice Hockey.

a player used when the player's team is short-handed as a result of a penalty, especially a player skilled at defense and employed regularly in such situations.

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Origin of penalty killer

First recorded in 1960–65

Words nearby penalty killer

penalty area, penalty box, penalty corner, penalty double, penalty kick, penalty killer, penalty point, penalty rates, penalty shoot-out, penalty shot, penalty stroke

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use penalty killer in a sentence

Nashville’s Calle Järnkrok is also a consistent double-digit goal scorer and a good penalty killer and costs just $2 million on the cap.
The Seattle Kraken Have An Expansion Blueprint. Can They Follow Vegas And Build A Winner?|Marisa Ingemi|July 14, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Barry showed me his room—a one bedroom with a killer view of Riverbank State Park and the Hudson.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside|Justin Rohrlich|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The only great thing he did as governor was to insist that the death penalty was just wrong.
Mario Cuomo: An OK Governor, but a Far Better Person|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He rebuffed calls to institute the death penalty, and his last term as governor ended in his defeat.
Mario Cuomo, a Frustrating Hero to Democrats, Is Dead at 82|Eleanor Clift|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Last summer, Louisiana also banned non-legal adoption, with offenders facing a penalty of $5,000 and up to five years in prison.
Judge: Rehoming Kids Is Trafficking|Tina Traster|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The would-be pope killer loves to be in front of the cameras, and the press in Italy is happy to oblige.
Pope-Shooter Ali Agca’s Very Weird Vatican Visit|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But a little earlier still, to be an Infidel was to be an outlaw, subject to the penalty of death.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
But the knife and the thin, dirty fingers of the killer did not permit his body to alter its position.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
The killer walked to the bushes at the west side of the gate, parted the branches with his dirty fingers.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
By the old law a drunken man who made a contract was still liable, and required to fulfill as a penalty for his conduct.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
His gloved fingers closed on Squid Murphy and the killer called Shiv simultaneously.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various

British Dictionary definitions for penalty killer

penalty killer

noun

ice hockey a good player who, when his team is short-handed because of a penalty, is sent onto the ice to prevent the other side from scoring

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