roadkill
Britishnoun
Explanation
Roadkill means the dead body of an animal that's been hit by a car. Some people are so sensitive they can't stand to look at roadkill. Animals that die on a highway, usually because they've been struck by a vehicle, are roadkill. You can also spell it as two words, road kill. The word is fairly modern, from the early 1970's, in part because before cars were invented — and before there were so many of them on the roads — there weren't so many animals affected by the transportation of humans. Use the term figuratively when someone feels unwanted: "I felt like roadkill when you didn't invite me."
Vocabulary lists containing roadkill
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.
Kennedy also offered an appetizer made from raccoon roadkill, Trump joked.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Later, when she saw images of the damage, she says she could "only describe it as looking like roadkill".
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Once left for dead as AI roadkill, Google Search ad revenue rose by 19% from the year before in the first quarter, its best mark since 2022.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
When they aren’t thieving, bald eagles also scavenge from roadkill or help themselves to free food found in human garbage or at the town landfill.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
“I’m sorry about your chickens, but they must be dog food or roadkill by now. How could they have made it this far?”
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
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.
