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kill

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verb

/kɪl/

present tense
I/you/we/they	kill
he/she/it	kills
present participle	killing
past tense	killed
past participle	killed

Other entries for this word

1
[intransitive/transitive] to make a person or other living thing die
Each year thousands of people are killed and injured on the roads.
Many people believe that killing animals for sport is morally wrong.
Speed kills.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
2
[transitive] [always progressive] informal if part of your body is killing you, it is causing you a lot of pain
My back's killing me.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
1. a.
  [transitive] to make you feel very tired
  Those stairs kill me every time!
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
3
[transitive] to spend time doing a particular activity while you are waiting for something
We killed a few hours watching videos.
kill time:
Shopping can be a good way to kill time at the airport.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
4
[transitive] to stop something from continuing
The group effectively killed speculation that a merger was about to take place.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
1. a.
  to stop pain
  The nurse will give you something to kill the pain.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
2. b.
  informal to decide not to publish or broadcast a news story
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
3. c.
  informal to switch lights off
  Can you kill the lights?
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill

phrases

if it kills you
informal
used for emphasizing that you will do something even if it is extremely difficult
I'm going to pass this exam if it kills me.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
I'll kill him/her/them
spoken
used for saying that you are very angry with someone
Wait until I get my hands on him! I'll kill him.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
kill or cure
an action you take that will either destroy something or save it completely
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
kill two birds with one stone
to achieve two things, both at the same time
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
kill yourself
1. 1
  to make yourself die
  He tried to kill himself with an overdose of drugs.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
2. 2
  to work too hard and make yourself very tired
  She killed herself to get that project finished on time.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
kill yourself laughing
informal
to laugh a lot
I told my boss about it and he killed himself laughing.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill
something won't kill someone
informal
used for saying that something is not as difficult or unpleasant as it seems
A shower of rain won't kill you.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of kill

phrasal verbs

kill off

See also

dressed

Synonyms: kill

Other ways of saying kill

murder to deliberately kill someone: She denied murdering her husband.

assassinate to kill an important or famous person, often for political reasons or for money: Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963.

slaughter to kill a group of people in a very violent way or to kill farm animals: Local militia then started to slaughter civilians. ♦ Thousands of cattle have been slaughtered since the outbreak of the disease.

massacre to kill a very large number of people in a violent or cruel way: Roman soldiers massacred several hundred villagers.

wipe out to kill an entire group of people or animals so that there are none left: These animals can wipe out entire colonies of bees.

exterminate to deliberately kill all the people or animals in a place or area, especially animals that are dangerous or dirty: We'll need to hire someone to exterminate the rats.

execute to kill someone legally as a punishment for a serious crime: He was executed for treason.

put to death (formal) to execute someone: The King ordered them to be put to death.

commit suicide to deliberately cause your own death: She committed suicide in 1968.

put down or put to sleep to kill an animal because it is ill or in pain and can never get well: We've had to have our dog put to sleep.

This is the British English definition of kill. View American English definition of kill.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

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Did you know?

kill

What are red words?

Thesaurus

Related dictionary definitions

phrases

if it kills you

I'll kill him/her/them

kill or cure

kill two birds with one stone

kill yourself

kill yourself laughing

something won't kill someone

phrasal verbs

charticle

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never event