KILL AN ELEPHANT

Meaning of KILL AN ELEPHANT in English

do too much, do ten times more than necessary

He asked you to adjust the carburetor, not rebuild the motor. Don't kill an elephant!

Wayne Magnuson. English idioms vocabulary. Словарь английских идиом. 2012

KILL AN ELEPHANT — do too much, do ten times more than necessary, overdo it He asked you to adjust the carburetor, not rebuild …
English Idioms vocab
AN — [an] 1. interr part -; an ille habe le libro? has he the book?; 2. conj whether -an suffixo adjective …
Interlingua English vocab
ELEPHANT — I Any of three ungulate species in the order Proboscidea (family Elephantidae), characterized by their large size, long trunk, tusks, …
Английский словарь Британика
KILL
Webster's New International English Dictionary
AN — I. _ən, after some consonants often ə n, esp emphatic or hesitating or after a pause (|)an; see usage note …
Webster's New International English Dictionary
-AN
Webster's New International English Dictionary
ELEPHANT — ˈeləfənt noun ( -s ) Etymology: Middle English olifaunt, elephant, from Old French & Latin; Old French olifant elephant, ivory, …
Webster's New International English Dictionary
ELEPHANT — (n.) Ivory; the tusk of the elephant.
Английский словарь Webster
AN — () This word is properly an adjective, but is commonly called the indefinite article. It is used before nouns of …
Английский словарь Webster
AN — This word is properly an adjective, but is commonly called the indefinite article. It is used before nouns of the …
Webster's Revised Unabridged English Dictionary
KILL — kill 1 — killable , adj. /kil/ , v.t. 1. to deprive of life in any manner; cause the death …
Random House Webster's Unabridged English Dictionary
ELEPHANT — — elephantoid , adj. /el"euh feuhnt/ , n. , pl. elephants , ( esp. collectively ) elephant for 1. 1. …
Random House Webster's Unabridged English Dictionary
AN — an 1 /euhn/ ; when stressed /an/ , indefinite article. the form of a before an initial vowel sound ( …
Random House Webster's Unabridged English Dictionary
KILL — I. ˈkil verb Etymology: Middle English, perhaps from Old English * cyllan; akin to Old English cwellan to kill — …
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary
AN — I. ən, (ˈ)an indefinite article Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ān one — more at one Date: before 12th …
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary
-AN
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary
ELEPHANT — noun ( plural elephants also elephant ) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French olifant, elefant, …
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary
KILL — noun a kiln. 2. kill ·add. ·noun the act of killing. 3. kill ·add. ·noun an animal killed in the …
Webster English vocab
ELEPHANT — noun ivory; the tusk of the elephant. 2. elephant ·noun a mammal of the order proboscidia, of which two living …
Webster English vocab
AN — conj if; a word used by old english authors. 2. an ·- this word is properly an adjective, but …
Webster English vocab
KILL — [kill] vb [ME, perh. fr. (assumed) OE cyllan; akin to OE cwellan to kill--more at quell] vt (14c) 1 a: …
Merriam-Webster English vocab
ELEPHANT — [el.e.phant] n, pl elephants also elephant often attrib [ME, fr. MF & L; MF olifant, fr. L elephantus, fr. Gk …
Merriam-Webster English vocab
-AN
Merriam-Webster English vocab
ELEPHANT — Indian elephant (Elephas maximus). African elephant (Loxodonta africana). either of two species, Elephas maximus, the Indian elephant, and Loxodonta africana, …
Britannica English vocabulary
ELEPHANT — elephant BrE AmE ˈel ɪf ə nt -əf- ▷ elephant|s s
Longman Pronunciation English Dictionary
KILL — / kɪl; NAmE / verb , noun ■ verb 1. to make sb/sth die : [ vn ] Cancer kills …
Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
ELEPHANT — / ˈelɪfənt; NAmE / noun a very large animal with thick grey skin, large ears, two curved outer teeth called …
Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
KILL — I. kill 1 S1 W1 /kɪl/ BrE AmE verb [ Word Family: noun : ↑ kill , ↑ overkill , …
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
ELEPHANT — el ‧ e ‧ phant /ˈeləfənt, ˈelɪfənt/ BrE AmE noun [countable] [ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: …
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
AN — I. a S1 W1 /ə; strong eɪ/ BrE AmE ( also an ) indefinite article , determiner 1 . used …
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
KILL — v. & n. --v.tr. 1 a deprive of life or vitality; put to death; cause the death of. b (absol.) …
Английский основной разговорный словарь
ELEPHANT — n. (pl. same or elephants) 1 the largest living land animal, of which two species survive, the larger African (Loxodonta …
Английский основной разговорный словарь
AN — adj. the form of the indefinite article (see A(1)) used before words beginning with a vowel sound (an egg; an …
Английский основной разговорный словарь
KILL — v. & n. v.tr. 1 a deprive of life or vitality; put to death; cause the death of. b (absol.) …
Concise Oxford English Dictionary
ELEPHANT — n. (pl. same or elephants) 1 the largest living land animal, of which two species survive, the larger African (Loxodonta …
Concise Oxford English Dictionary
AN — adj. the form of the indefinite article (see A(1)) used before words beginning with a vowel sound (an egg; an …
Concise Oxford English Dictionary
KILL — v. & n. --v.tr. 1. a deprive of life or vitality; put to death; cause the death of. b (absol.) …
Oxford English vocab
ELEPHANT — n. (pl. same or elephants) 1. the largest living land animal, of which two species survive, the larger African (Loxodonta …
Oxford English vocab
KILL — ( kills, killing, killed) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. If a …
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
ELEPHANT — ( elephants) An elephant is a very large animal with a long, flexible nose called a trunk, which it uses …
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary
KILL — I. verb COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a revenge killing ▪ Her death was followed by a series of revenge killings. …
Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary
ELEPHANT — noun COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES white elephant ▪ When the theatre first opened it was widely regarded as a white …
Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary
AN
Longman DOCE5 Extras English vocabulary
KILL — [noun] [U]A kill is an animal or bird which has been hunted and killed, or the action of killing.The leopard …
Cambridge English vocab
ELEPHANT — n. elephant bird Elephant Man elephant seal
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
ELEPHANT — n. Any of three ungulate species in the order Proboscidea (family Elephantidae), characterized by their large size, long trunk, tusks, …
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
KILL — I. noun ADJECTIVE ▪ clean , easy , quick ▪ fresh ▪ vultures sensing a fresh ~ ▪ fish ( …
Oxford Collocations English Dictionary
ELEPHANT — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ African ▪ Asian , Indian ▪ bull , cow ▪ female , male ▪ baby ▪ trained …
Oxford Collocations English Dictionary
KILL
Longman Activator English vocab
KILL — n. 25B6; verb gangs killed twenty-seven people : MURDER, take/end the life of, make away with, assassinate, eliminate, terminate, dispatch, …
Concise Oxford Thesaurus English vocabulary
KILL
Oxford Thesaurus English vocab
KILL — verb Choosing the right word: GENERAL WORDS and EXACT WORDS Some words have a general meaning, e.g. big, beautiful, good, …
Longman Common Errors English vocabulary
AN — indefinite article BAD : I had never visited an hospital before. GOOD : I had never visited a hospital before. …
Longman Common Errors English vocabulary
KILL — I 1. гл. 1) убивать, лишать жизни The prisoners killed a guard during the escape. ≈ Во время побега пленники …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь
ELEPHANT — (зоология) слон (Elephantidae) (the E.) (американизм) Слон (эмблема республиканской партии) the E. and the Donkey республиканская и демократическая партии (специальное) …
Большой Англо-Русский словарь
KILL — kill.ogg _I 1. kıl n 1. добыча ( на охоте ) plentiful kill - хорошая охота, богатая добыча 2. редк. …
Англо-Русско-Английский словарь общей лексики - Сборник из лучших словарей
ELEPHANT — elephant.ogg ʹelıfənt n 1. зоол. слон ( Elephantidae ) 2. (the Elephant) амер. Слон ( эмблема республиканской партии ) the …
Англо-Русско-Английский словарь общей лексики - Сборник из лучших словарей
KILL — 1) замор 2) кеффекелит 3) кеффекилит 4) электр. обесточивать 5) подавить 6) подавлять 7) снимать 8) снять • - kill steel - kill voltage - kill weed
Англо-Русский научно-технический словарь
ELEPHANT — n 1. зоол. слон ( Elephantidae ) 2. (the Elephant) амер. Слон ( эмблема республиканской партии ) the Elephant and …
Новый большой Англо-Русский словарь - Апресян, Медникова
KILL — _I 1. kıl n 1. добыча ( на охоте ) plentiful kill - хорошая охота, богатая добыча 2. редк. отстрел …
Большой новый Англо-Русский словарь
ELEPHANT — n 1. зоол. слон ( Elephantidae ) 2. (the Elephant) амер. Слон ( эмблема республиканской партии ) the Elephant and …
Большой новый Англо-Русский словарь
KILL — I kɪl 1. гл. 1) а) убивать, лишать жизни The prisoners killed a guard during the escape. — Во время …
Англо-Русский словарь по общей лексике
ELEPHANT — сущ. 1) а) слон elephants trumpet — слоны трубят herd of elephants — стадо слонов - elephant bull - elephant …
Англо-Русский словарь по общей лексике
KILL — I [°Ў®] kill.wav 1. гл. 1) а) убивать, лишать жизни The prisoners killed a guard during the escape. — Во время побега пленники убили …
Англо-Русский словарь общей лексики

English Idioms vocabulary

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