I. ˈkil verb
( killed -ld ; or chiefly dialect kilt -lt ; killed or chiefly dialect kilt ; killing ; kills )
Etymology: Middle English cullen, killen to strike, beat, kill; perhaps akin to Old English cwellan to kill — more at quell
transitive verb
1.
a. : to deprive of life : put to death : cause the death of
killed by enemy fire
this poison kills rats
the accident killed six people
also : to terminate suddenly the life processes of (as in preparing tissue for fixing and microscopic examination)
b. : to destroy as if by killing
kills whatever core of human decency he ever had in him — Aldous Huxley
an industry killed by competition
an unfavorable report would … kill any chance of getting a license — Wall Street Journal
c. : to slaughter (as a hog) for food : convert a food animal into (as pork) by slaughtering
d.
(1) : to shatter (a clay target) by hitting in skeet shooting
(2) of a ship : sink
killed ships and … wounded ships staggering away from battle — Ira Wolfert
e. : to subvert completely the plans and hopes of : outwit with the result of putting in a hopeless position
the calamitous failure of his plan killed him more than if he had lost all his money
2.
a. : to put an end to especially abruptly : cause to cease : stop especially with finality
knew he could not kill the evil in the world
kill the enterprise by denying it the money necessary to proceed
the censors killed the play after its first week
killed the engine and got out of the car
a snack to kill her hunger
the fire- killing power of the chemical
b. : to get rid of : eliminate
kill foam in pulp in paper mills
c. : defeat , veto
the bill was killed on the first vote
asked for a transfer but his petition was killed
d.
(1) : to take out or omit or mark for omission (something published as in a newspaper or presented as on a stage) : mark for deletion (something designed for publication or presentation)
killed a good part of the article for political reasons
killed the story as it was written for the late edition
killed the second act and substituted a new one after the second week
also : to order (as set type) to be destroyed or distributed
(2) : to stop the use of (as a stage prop or broadcast microphone) or the functioning of (as a stage light)
3.
a. : to destroy the vital or active or essential quality of
kill a disease with antibiotics
killed the pain with drugs
the heat killed the yeast
believed that to explain a joke is to kill it
b. : neutralize
threw an alkali in the solution to kill the acid
c. : to deprive of the power to germinate
kill the seed
d. : to do damage or injury to (as flour) by overheating
e. : spoil , ruin
the addition of the wrong color totally killed the portrait
f.
(1) : to injure or hurt severly : cause extreme pain to
my feet are killing me
(2) chiefly Irish : to knock unconscious
got killed in a fight and didn't come to until morning
g. : to tire or exhaust especially almost to the point of collapse
the heat and the heavy work killed him and he had to lie down for a while
no use killing ourselves getting to the train — J.P.Marquand
h. : to lessen or impede markedly
the frantic maneuver killed her speed — Joseph Millard
i. : to impress a cancellation mark upon (a stamp)
the stamp was killed with a blue grid — E.R.Guilford
4.
a. : to make a markedly favorable impression on : affect strongly
on her first stage appearance she killed the audience
b. slang : to impress as hilariously funny or ridiculous
his jokes killed me
5. : to occupy oneself in some convenient way merely to pass (time or a unit of time) : fill in (time or a unit of time)
ways in which to kill an hour until train time
kill an entire afternoon over a pot of tea — Lin Yutang
also : to provide or serve as a convenient occupation or distraction to help pass (time or a unit of time)
reading killed a good deal of time during the trip
6.
a. : to treat in such a manner as to destroy undesirable properties and so make suitable for further treatment or for a specific purpose
kill soap stock by boiling with alkali
kill fur by means of chemicals in preparation for dyeing
b. : to cause (molten steel) to become quiet and free from bubbling by adding a strong deoxidizing agent (as aluminum) that combines with oxygen and minimizes reaction between oxygen and carbon during solidification
c. : knot 5
d. : de-energize
kill a live electrical circuit
e. : to reduce the strength of (plaster of paris) by mixing with an excess of water
7. : to break or burn (an object in a mortuary rite of a nonliterate culture) for the purpose of separating from the material substance the spirit which may then accompany and serve the spirit of a recently deceased person
8. : to play (a return shot) so hard in a racket game that one's opponent cannot make return — compare smash
9.
a. : to consume (as an alcoholic beverage) totally
killed his drink and held out the glass — W.L.Gresham
b. : to consume the total contents of (as a bottle of liquor)
killed two bottles of wine over dinner
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to perform the act of killing something : commit murder or slaughter
b. : to make an irresistible impression
dressed to kill
c. : to produce exhaustion or fatigue
a killing occupation
2. : to undergo killing or slaughter — usually used of a food animal
Synonyms:
kill , slay , murder , assassinate , dispatch , execute all mean, in common, to put to death. kill merely states the fact
kill a rabbit
a man killed by a twenty-foot fall
the drought killed most of the vegetation
kill a proposal
slay in being a more literary word implies a force and wantonness and a generally more dramatic action
the law which forbade the sinful slaying of a cat — Agnes Repplier
his hoary tales of how Dion O'Banion was slain in his flower shop — Herman Kogan
in 1258 the terrible conqueror Hulagu swept over Baghdad and slew the Caliph with 80,000 of the faithful — Times Literary Supplement
murder implies motive and usually premeditation in a criminal human act
murder a wealthy man for his money
the fear which drove Rome to murder Carthage and Corinth and her own character as well — Herbert Agar
that theory is murdered by the brutal fact that there are many among the older generation who will not believe — G.W.Johnson
assassinate implies the killing of a person by stealth or treachery, especially of a person in governmental or political power
assassinate a monarch
dispatch in this connection stresses speed and directness in murdering or otherwise putting to death and is usually used intentionally to avoid the violent or odious connotations of the other terms
eight to twelve otters were dispatched before the main herd dispersed — Nature Magazine
one of his first tasks was to dispatch a sick and dying horse with a sledgehammer — Times Literary Supplement
then reached up, caught Wright by the coat, drew him down on to him, and at one stab dispatched him — American Guide Series: Louisiana
execute is the term used for putting to death one condemned to death by a legal or quasi-legal process
execute a man convicted of murder
the mob summarily executed the horse thief
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : killing 1
an animal moving in for the kill
indicted a man for a kill in the downtown section of the city
b. : an act of hunting with the intent of killing for food
an animal on a kill
c.
(1) : the death or killing (as of weeds) by weed killers, insecticides, or other lethal preparations
(2) : the ability to kill : a killing force (as of a weed killer)
the residual kill of DDT
2. : something killed: as
a. : an animal or bird shot in a hunt ; collectively : the animals or birds shot in a hunt, during a season, or in a particular period of time
the annual kill of cock pheasants is estimated at 750,000 — American Guide Series: Michigan
b. : an enemy airplane shot down or otherwise destroyed by military action while in flight
a group captain's determination to get maximum kills at his fighter station — Sydney (Australia) Bulletin
also : an enemy submarine or ship destroyed
c. : something to be destroyed (as by gunfire)
guide missiles to the kill — J.J.Haggerty
d. : copy that has been omitted or marked for omission from a publication (as a newspaper)
e. : a return shot in a racket game that has been driven so hard that one's opponent cannot handle it
3. : an order or instruction to kill (as set type matter or a news story)
4. : killing 3
5. : an animal used as bait in big-game hunting
•
- on the kill
III. noun
( -s )
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: Dutch kil, from Middle Dutch kille; akin to East Fris. kille watercourse, Old Norse kīll small bay, arm of the sea, and perhaps to Old High German kīl wedge — more at chine
: channel , creek , river , stream — used chiefly in place names in Delaware and the state of New York (as Catskill mountains)
IV. transitive verb
: to prevent the opposing hockey team from scoring during
killed two penalties