I. kill 1 S1 W1 /kɪl/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ kill , ↑ overkill , ↑ killer , ↑ killing ; verb : ↑ kill ; adjective : ↑ killer ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Origin: Probably from an unrecorded Old English cyllan ]
1 . MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING DIE [intransitive and transitive] to make a person or animal die:
Why did she kill her husband?
Murray held a gun to his head and threatened to kill him.
Four people were killed when a train plunged into a flooded river.
be killed instantly/outright (=immediately)
The driver was killed instantly.
Bleach kills household germs.
Smoking kills.
2 . kill yourself
a) to cause your own death:
You’re going to kill yourself on that bike.
After her husband died, Mary tried to kill herself.
b) to work very hard to achieve something, in a way that makes you ill or tired:
It’s not worth killing yourself over it.
kill yourself to do something
He about killed himself to make the business go.
3 . MAKE SOMETHING STOP/FAIL [transitive] to make something stop operating or fail:
Joe pulled in and killed the engine.
The out-of-town shopping centre will kill local trade.
kill your speed (=drive slowly)
4 . BE ANGRY WITH SOMEBODY [transitive] informal to be very angry with someone:
Mom will kill me if I’m late.
5 . ANNOYED/SAD [transitive] to make someone feel annoyed, sad, concerned etc
it kills somebody to do something
It kills me to see him working so hard.
What happened next? The suspense is killing me.
6 . would/could kill for something ( also would kill to do something ) to want something so much that you will do almost anything to get it or do it:
I could kill for a smoke right now.
In those days, actors would kill to break into film.
7 . my head/back etc is killing me spoken used to say that a part of your body is hurting a lot:
I’ve walked miles and my feet are killing me.
8 . kill time/an hour etc to spend time doing something which is not important, while you are waiting to do something important or waiting for something else to happen:
With time to kill, he took a cab to the centre.
9 . kill a beer/bottle of wine etc spoken to drink or finish drinking a beer etc quickly:
Let’s kill these beers and go.
10 . MAKE SOMEBODY LAUGH [transitive] to make someone laugh a lot
kill yourself laughing
They weren’t bothered – in fact, they were killing themselves laughing.
11 . it won’t/wouldn’t kill somebody (to do something) spoken used to say that someone could easily do something, and ought to do it:
It wouldn’t kill you to help out once in a while.
12 . (even) if it kills me spoken used to emphasize that you are determined to do something, even though it is very difficult:
I’m completing this course, even if it kills me.
13 . kill two birds with one stone to achieve two things with one action
14 . kill the goose that lays the golden egg to destroy the thing that brings you profit or success
15 . kill the fatted calf to welcome someone home with a big meal etc after they have been away for a long time
16 . kill somebody with kindness to be too kind to someone, in a way that actually harms them
17 . kill or cure used to say that something you are going to do will be either successful or fail completely
⇨ dressed to kill at ↑ dressed (3)
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ kill to make someone die:
The driver and his passenger were killed in the crash.
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He was killed by rival gang members.
▪ murder to deliberately kill someone – used when talking about this as a crime:
He was convicted of murdering his wife.
▪ commit manslaughter to kill someone without intending to – used when talking about this as a crime:
The court ruled that the guard had committed manslaughter.
▪ assassinate to deliberately kill an important person, especially a politician:
He was part of a plot to assassinate Hitler.
▪ slay to kill someone or something in a violent way – used in newspaper reports and also in old stories:
Two teenagers were slain in the shootings.
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St. George slew the dragon.
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The king was slain at the battle of Hastings.
▪ execute formal ( also put somebody to death ) to kill someone as a punishment for a crime:
McVeigh, who killed 168 people in a bombing attack, was executed by lethal injection.
▪ eliminate to kill someone in order to prevent them from causing trouble:
a ruthless dictator who eliminated all his rivals
▪ take somebody out informal to kill someone in order to get rid of them, especially an enemy or someone who is causing trouble for you:
US forces used air strikes to take out the enemy positions.
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One of the other drug dealers may have decided to take him out.
▪ bump somebody off humorous informal to kill someone:
He was so irritating I felt like bumping him off myself.
▪ do away with somebody informal to kill someone:
The settlers in Jamestown had been done away with, but no one knew how.
■ to kill yourself
▪ commit suicide to kill yourself:
He committed suicide after the death of his girlfriend.
▪ take your own life formal to kill yourself:
He had taken his own life while he was severely depressed.
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They believe that it is a sin to take your own life.
■ to kill a large number of people
▪ massacre to kill a large number of people in a violent way:
Thousands of peaceful demonstrators were massacred by the soldiers.
▪ slaughter to kill a large number of people in a violent way. Slaughter is also used about killing animals for food:
The army slaughtered thousands of civilians in an effort to stop the revolt.
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The pigs were slaughtered on the farm.
▪ exterminate to kill large numbers of a particular group, so that they no longer exist:
Hitler’s goal was to exterminate the Jews.
kill something ↔ off phrasal verb
1 . to cause the death of a lot of living things SYN destroy :
Pollution is rapidly killing off plant life.
2 . to stop or remove something completely SYN destroy :
These figures kill off any hope that the economy is poised for recovery.
II. kill 2 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ kill , ↑ overkill , ↑ killer , ↑ killing ; verb : ↑ kill ; adjective : ↑ killer ]
1 . [countable usually singular] the act of killing a hunted animal:
He raised his knife for the kill.
2 . move in/close in for the kill to come closer to something in order to kill, defeat, or destroy it:
Enemy submarines were moving in for the kill.
3 . [singular] an animal that is killed by another animal:
The cubs will share the remains of the kill.