I. ˈmərdər, ˈmə̄də(r, ˈməidə(r noun
( -s )
Etymology: partly from Middle English murther, from Old English morthor; partly from Middle English mordre, murdre, from Old French murdre, murtre, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English morthor; akin to Old English morth death, murder, Gothic maurthr murder, Old High German mord, Old Norse morth murder, Latin mort-, mors death, mori to die, Greek brotos, mortos mortal, Sanskrit mṛta death, marate, mriyate he dies
1. early English law : the killing of a person secretly or with concealment as opposed to an open killing
2. : the crime of killing a person under circumstances precisely defined by statute: as
a. : first-degree murder that deserves either capital or severe punishment because of being willful and premeditated, being committed with atrocity or cruelty (as by poisoning, starvation, mayhem, or torture), being committed in the course of the commission of a serious felony (as arson, burglary, or kidnapping), or being committed after lying in wait for the purpose of killing the victim
b. : second-degree murder that in most states is all other murder not classified as first-degree murder
3. : the killing of people in war
war is mass murder
4. : something extraordinarily difficult or dangerous
it'll be murder on those roads up in the Sierras — G.A.Wagner
in the more modest cafeteria … the crush is murder — Herbert Kubly
5. : a parlor game in which after a mock murder has been committed in the dark the lights are turned on and one player as the detective questions the others to try to find out who is the criminal
II. verb
( murdered ; murdered ; murdering -d(ə)riŋ ; murders )
Etymology: partly, from Middle English murthren, from murther, n.; partly from Middle English mordren, murdren, from Middle French mordrir, murdrir, from Old French, from murdre, murtre, n.
transitive verb
1. : to kill (a human being) unlawfully and with premeditated malice or willfully, deliberately, and unlawfully
2. : to slaughter in a brutal manner especially in war
bombs murdered people as they stood in the street
3.
a. : to put an end to : destroy
if ever he were in power would … murder truth, freedom, and art — Saturday Review
b. : to harass or depress grievously : tease , torment
murdered this poor heart of mine — Shakespeare
c. : to mutilate, spoil, or deform by wretched performance : mangle
someone's difficult sonata was murdered on the piano — Anne Green
the average British traveler leads the world in murdering the French tongue — Times Literary Supplement
intransitive verb
: to commit murder
Synonyms: see kill