su ‧ i ‧ cide /ˈsuːəsaɪd, ˈsuːɪsaɪd, ˈsjuː- $ ˈsuː-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: sui 'of oneself' + English -cide ]
1 . the act of killing yourself:
More people commit suicide at Christmas than at any other time.
My mother attempted suicide on many occasions.
He apparently left a suicide note on his desk (=letter explaining his reasons for killing himself) .
2 . political/economic suicide something you do that ruins your good position in politics or the ↑ economy :
He said a vote for Labour would be a vote for economic suicide.
3 . suicide attack/mission/bombing etc an attack etc in which the person who carries out the attack deliberately kills himself or herself in the process of killing other people
4 . suicide by cop American English an occasion when someone deliberately threatens a police officer in order to make the police officer shoot, as a way of committing suicide
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ commit suicide (=kill yourself)
Most people who commit suicide have had depressive illnesses.
▪ attempt suicide (=try to kill yourself)
She had attempted suicide twice.
▪ contemplate suicide (=think that you might try to kill yourself)
I contemplated suicide on several occasions after my daughter died.
■ suicide + NOUN
▪ a suicide attempt
He was admitted to a psychiatric facility after a suicide attempt.
▪ a suicide bid (=a suicide attempt – used in news reports)
The singer was rushed to hospital after an apparent suicide bid.
▪ a suicide note (=a letter in which someone explains their reasons for killing themselves)
He left a suicide note for his two teenage children saying ‘Please forgive me.’
▪ a suicide threat (=when someone says that they will kill themselves)
Depression may sometimes lead to suicide threats.
▪ a suicide pact (=an agreement that two or more people make to kill themselves at the same time)
She shot her husband and herself in a suicide pact.
▪ the suicide rate (=the number of people who kill themselves)
The suicide rate among former soldiers is very high.
■ adjectives
▪ mass suicide (=when many people commit suicide together)
He ordered his followers to commit mass suicide.
▪ assisted suicide (=when someone such as a doctor helps a very ill person commit suicide)
Thirty-four other states have adopted similar laws banning assisted suicide.