English
kill
see also: Kill
Pronunciation Verb

kill (kills, present participle killing; past and past participle killed)

  1. (transitive) To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
    Smoking kills more people each year than alcohol and drugs combined.
    • 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act III, scene ii], page 12 ↗, column Caliban:
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  2. (transitive) To render inoperative.
    He killed the engine and turned off the headlights, but remained in the car, waiting.
    • 1978, John Farris, The Fury
      Peter: Ask Childers if it was worth his arm.
      Policeman: What did you do to his arm, Peter?
      Peter: I killed it, with a machine gun.
  3. (transitive, figuratively) To stop, cease or render void; to terminate.
    The editor decided to kill the story.
    The news that a hurricane had destroyed our beach house killed our plans to sell it.
    My computer wouldn't respond until I killed some of the running processes.
  4. (transitive, figuratively, hyperbole) To amaze, exceed, stun or otherwise incapacitate.
    That night, she was dressed to kill.
    That joke always kills me.
  5. (transitive, figuratively, hyperbole) To cause great pain, discomfort or distress to.
    These tight shoes are killing my feet.
  6. (transitive, figuratively) To produce feelings of dissatisfaction or revulsion in.
    It kills me to throw out three whole turkeys, but I can't get anyone to take them and they've already started to go bad.
    It kills me to learn how many poor people are practically starving in this country while rich moguls spend such outrageous amounts on useless luxuries.
  7. (transitive) To use up or to waste.
    I'm just doing this to kill time.
    He told the bartender, pointing at the bottle of scotch he planned to consume, "Leave it, I'm going to kill the bottle."
  8. (transitive, figuratively, informal) To exert an overwhelming effect on.
    Between the two of us, we killed the rest of the case of beer.
    Look at the amount of destruction to the enemy base. We pretty much killed their ability to retaliate anymore.
  9. (transitive, figuratively, hyperbole) To overpower, overwhelm or defeat.
    The team had absolutely killed their traditional rivals, and the local sports bars were raucous with celebrations.
  10. (transitive) To force a company out of business.
  11. (intransitive, informal, hyperbolic) To produce intense pain.
    You don't ever want to get rabies. The doctor will have to give you multiple shots and they really kill.
  12. (figuratively, informal, hyperbole, transitive) To punish severely.
    My parents are going to kill me!
  13. (transitive, sports) To strike (a ball, etc.) with such force and placement as to make a shot that is impossible to defend against, usually winning a point.
  14. (transitive, sports) To cause (a ball, etc.) to be out of play, resulting in a stoppage of gameplay.
  15. To succeed with an audience, especially in comedy.
  16. (mathematics, transitive, informal) To cause to assume the value zero.
  17. (computing, Internet, IRC, transitive) To disconnect (a user) involuntarily from the network.
  18. (metallurgy) To deadmelt.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

kill (plural kills)

  1. The act of killing.
    The assassin liked to make a clean kill, and thus favored small arms over explosives.
  2. Specifically, the death blow.
    The hunter delivered the kill with a pistol shot to the head.
  3. The result of killing; that which has been killed.
    The fox dragged its kill back to its den.
    • If ye plunder his kill' from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride.
  4. (volleyball) The grounding of the ball on the opponent's court, winning the rally.
    • 2011, the 34th Catawba College Sports Hall of Fame, in Catawba College's Campus Magazine, Spring/Summer 2011, page 21:
      As a senior in 1993, Turner had a kill percentage of 40.8, which was a school record at the time and the best in the SAC. Turner concluded her volleyball career with 1,349 kills, ranking fifth all-time at Catawba.
Translations Translations Translations Noun

kill (plural kills)

  1. (north-east US) A creek; a body of water; a channel or arm of the sea.
    The channel between Staten Island and Bergen Neck is the Kill van Kull, or the Kills.
    Schuylkill, Catskill, etc.
Noun

kill (plural kills)

  1. A kiln.
Kill
Proper noun
  1. Surname


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