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kill1 definition

kill (kil)

transitive verb

  1. to cause the death of; make die
    1. to destroy the vital or active qualities of
    2. to destroy; put an end to; ruin
  2. to prevent the passage of (legislation); defeat or veto
  3. to spend (time) on matters of little or no importance
    1. to cause (an engine, etc.) to stop; turn off
    2. to turn off (a light, esp. a theater spotlight)
    3. to muffle (sound)
  4. ☆ to prevent publication of to kill a newspaper story
  5. to spoil the effect of; destroy by contrast: said of colors, etc.
  6. Informal to overcome with laughter, chagrin, pleasure, surprise, etc.
  7. Informal to cause to feel great pain or discomfort
  8. Informal to tire out; exhaust
  9. Slang to drink the last, or all, of (a bottle of liquor, etc.); finish off
  10. Printing to mark as not to be used; score out; cancel
  11. Tennis, etc. to return (the ball) with such force that it cannot be returned

Etymology: ME kullen, killen < ? OE *cyllan, special late phonetic development of cwellan, to kill: see quell

intransitive verb

  1. to destroy life
  2. to be killed plants that kill easily

noun

  1. an act or instance of killing
  2. an animal or animals killed
  3. an enemy plane, ship, etc. destroyed
kill Idioms

in at the kill

  1. present when the hunted animal is killed
  2. present at the end or climax of some action

to kill

Informal to make a strongly desirable impression dressed to kill
kill2 definition

kill (kil)

noun

a stream; channel; creek: used esp. in place names

Etymology: Du kil < MDu kille, akin to ON kīll, inlet

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:
kill Synonyms

kill

v.

  1. To deprive of life

    slay, slaughter, murder, assassinate, massacre, butcher, execute, put to death, dispatch, hang, lynch, electrocute, knife, immolate, sacrifice, shoot, strangle, garrote, stifle, poison, choke, smother, suffocate, asphyxiate, drown, behead, hack, guillotine, crucify, dismember, decapitate, disembowel, quarter, tear limb from limb, destroy, give the death blow, give the coup de grÂce, take someone's life, put an end to, victimize, martyr, exterminate, purge, stab, cut the throat, shoot down, put to the sword, mangle, cut down, bring down, mow down, machine-gun, decimate, carry off, pick off, liquidate, eliminate, remove, put one out of one's misery, put to sleep, put away, euthanize, starve, bludgeon, make away with, do away with, commit murder, spill blood, bump off*, rub out*, wipe out*, hit*, erase*, waste*, grease*, take for a ride*, do in*, knock off*, heave overboard*, finish off*, get rid of*, blow one's brains out*, send to glory*, brain*, zap*, ice*, off*, blow away*.

    Antonyms rescue*, resuscitate*, animate. *

  2. To deprive of existence

    exterminate, ruin, annihilate; see abolish, destroy 1.

  3. To cancel

    annul, nullify, counteract; see cancel 2, recant, revoke.

  4. To turn off

    halt, shut off, stop; see halt 2, turn off 1.

  5. To veto

    cancel, prohibit, refuse; see forbid, refuse.

kill is the general word in this list, meaning to cause the death of in any way, and may be applied to persons, animals, or plants; slay, now largely a literary word, implies deliberate and violent killing; murder applies to an unlawful and malicious or premeditated killing; assassinate implies specifically the sudden killing of a politically important person, often by someone hired or delegated to do this; execute denotes a killing in accordance with a legally imposed sentence; dispatch suggests a killing by direct action, such as shooting, and emphasizes speed or promptness


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

kill Usage Examples

Object

  • civilian: Similarly, the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed mostly civilians.

Subject

  • sniper: His Company Commander later wrote He was killed by a sniper and suffered no pain.

Followed by a transitive particle

  • off: Hotter than a hundred suns, the furnaces were being used to kill off the unwanted ABC Warriors.

Used with why or when

  • whoever: After I get out; I will track down and kill whoever got me.

Preposition: in

  • crash: He was killed in an air crash in 1961.

Preposition: by

  • sniper: His Company Commander later wrote He was killed by a sniper and suffered no pain.
kill usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

kill quotes

Hey, hey, LBJ! How many kids did you kill today?

-Anonymous

Kill them all.God will recognize his own.

-Arnald Amaury   d.1225

As if you would call a physician, that is thought good for the cure of the disease you complain of but is Bacon unacquainted with your body, and therefore may put you in the way for a present cure but overthroweth your health in some other kind; and so cure the disease and kill the patient.

-Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans

kill quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"kill." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/kill>

APA Style

kill. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/kill

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