kill
[verb]
Synonyms:
- slay, assassinate, butcher, destroy, execute, exterminate, liquidate, massacre, murder, slaughter
- suppress, extinguish, halt, quash, quell, scotch, smother, stifle, stop

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Related Idioms: do (or make) away with, do for, put out of the way, put (or do) to death, put to sleep, take one's life
Related Words: butcher, choke, drown, massacre, poison, shoot, slaughter, suffocate, knife, sacrifice, stifle, annihilate, exterminate, ruin

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English Thesaurus: assault, mugging, murder, homicide, rape, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. kill¹ S1 W1 /kɪl/ verb
[Word Family: noun: kill, overkill, killer, killing; verb: kill; adjective: killer]
[Date: 1200-1300; Origin: Probably from an unrecorded Old English cyllan]

1. MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING DIE [intransitive and transitive] to make a person or animal die:
Why did she kill her husband?
Murray held a gun to his head and threatened to kill him.
Four people were killed when a train plunged into a flooded river.
be killed instantly/outright (=immediately)
The driver was killed instantly.
Bleach kills household germs.
Smoking kills.

2. kill yourself
a) to cause your own death:
You’re going to kill yourself on that bike.
After her husband died, Mary tried to kill herself.
b) to work very hard to achieve something, in a way that makes you ill or tired:
It’s not worth killing yourself over it.
kill yourself to do something
He about killed himself to make the business go.

3. MAKE SOMETHING STOP/FAIL [transitive] to make something stop operating or fail:
Joe pulled in and killed the engine.
The out-of-town shopping centre will kill local trade.
kill your speed (=drive slowly)

4. BE ANGRY WITH SOMEBODY [transitive] informal to be very angry with someone:
Mom will kill me if I’m late.

5. ANNOYED/SAD [transitive] to make someone feel annoyed, sad, concerned etc
it kills somebody to do something
It kills me to see him working so hard.
What happened next? The suspense is killing me.

6. would/could kill for something (also would kill to do something) to want something so much that you will do almost anything to get it or do it:
I could kill for a smoke right now.
In those days, actors would kill to break into film.

7. my head/back etc is killing me spoken used to say that a part of your body is hurting a lot:
I’ve walked miles and my feet are killing me.

8. kill time/an hour etc to spend time doing something which is not important, while you are waiting to do something important or waiting for something else to happen:
With time to kill, he took a cab to the centre.

9. kill a beer/bottle of wine etc spoken to drink or finish drinking a beer etc quickly:
Let’s kill these beers and go.

10. MAKE SOMEBODY LAUGH [transitive] to make someone laugh a lot
kill yourself laughing
They weren’t bothered – in fact, they were killing themselves laughing.

11. it won’t/wouldn’t kill somebody (to do something) spoken used to say that someone could easily do something, and ought to do it:
It wouldn’t kill you to help out once in a while.

12. (even) if it kills me spoken used to emphasize that you are determined to do something, even though it is very difficult:
I’m completing this course, even if it kills me.

13. kill two birds with one stone to achieve two things with one action

14. kill the goose that lays the golden egg to destroy the thing that brings you profit or success

15. kill the fatted calf to welcome someone home with a big meal etc after they have been away for a long time

16. kill somebody with kindness to be too kind to someone, in a way that actually harms them

17. kill or cure used to say that something you are going to do will be either successful or fail completely
⇒ dressed to kill at dressed(3)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. kill² noun
[Word Family: noun: kill, overkill, killer, killing; verb: kill; adjective: killer]

1. [countable usually singular] the act of killing a hunted animal:
He raised his knife for the kill.

2. move in/close in for the kill to come closer to something in order to kill, defeat, or destroy it:
Enemy submarines were moving in for the kill.

3. [singular] an animal that is killed by another animal:
The cubs will share the remains of the kill.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

kill
noun
ADJ. easy, quick
VERB + KILL make The lion made a quick kill.
be in at I didn't even get to see the fox, let alone be in at the kill.
close in for, move in for The hunters moved in for the kill.
PREP. at the ~ The meat is divided up among all those present at the kill.
for the ~ The animal crouched down, getting ready for the kill.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

kill
verb
ADV. outright He has fought more than fifty bulls, killing three outright.
almost, nearly | instantly | accidentally | unlawfully
VERB + KILL want to | be prepared to They are quite prepared to kill to achieve their ends.
threaten to | be going to, intend to (figurative) Mum's going to kill me when she finds out.
plot to plotting to kill the dictator
try to | help (to) | make sb It must have been really awful to make her kill herself.
PHRASES admit/deny killing sb, be accused of killing sb, be charged with killing sb, be killed in sth soldiers killed in battle
be tragically killed Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

kill
verb
Choosing the right word: GENERAL WORDS and EXACT WORDS
Some words have a general meaning, e.g. big, beautiful, good, say, make, kill . These words are useful, especially when you begin to learn English, because you can make use of them in a wide range of situations:
A big meal, a big kitchen, a big mistake etc
For each general word, however, there is usually another word or phrase which comes closer to what you want to say, and which may also sound more natural in the context:
A substantial meal, a spacious kitchen, a serious mistake etc
A major step towards fluency in English is getting to know plenty of exact words which can replace the more general words you have learned. Here are some words which can be used instead of the general word kill .
Murder To murder someone is to kill them deliberately and unlawfully: ‘The key witness was murdered before he could testify.’ A person who does this is a murderer .
Massacre Massacre is used when you talk about the deliberate killing of a large number of people, especially people who cannot defend themselves: ‘Whole native populations were massacred when the European settles arrived.’
Slaughter Slaughter is used when you talk about the deliberate killing of a large number of people, especially in a particularly cruel way: ‘Men ran through the village burning houses and slaughtering anyone that got in their way.’
To slaughter an animal is to kill it for its meat, skin etc, or as part of a religious ceremony: ‘The children couldn’t understand why the cattle had to be slaughtered.’
Execute To execute someone (or put someone to death is to kill someone as a punishment, according to the law: ‘King Charles I was executed on 30th January 1639.’
Assassinate To assassinate someone is to deliberately kill a very famous or important person such as a political leader: ‘President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.’ A person who does this is an assassin .
Commit suicide To commit suicide (or take your own life ) is to deliberately kill yourself: ‘Rather than be taken prisoner, they preferred to commit suicide.’
Destroy To destroy an animal (or have it put down/to sleep ) is to kill in a way that does not cause pain, especially because it is sick or injured: ‘The cat had developed cancer and had to be destroyed.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

assault noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of physically attacking someone:
He was arrested for an assault on a policeman.
mugging noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of attacking and robbing someone in a public place:
Muggings usually happen at night.
murder noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of deliberately killing someone:
He is accused of the murder of five women.
homicide noun [uncountable and countable] especially American English law murder:
Homicide rates are rising fastest amongst 15 to19-year-olds.
rape noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of forcing someone to have sex:
In most cases of rape, the victim knows her attacker.
kill to make someone die:
The driver and his passenger were killed in the crash.
He was killed by rival gang members.
commit manslaughter to kill someone without intending to – used when talking about this as a crime:
The court ruled that the guard had committed manslaughter.
assassinate to deliberately kill an important person, especially a politician:
He was part of a plot to assassinate Hitler.
slay to kill someone or something in a violent way – used in newspaper reports and also in old stories:
Two teenagers were slain in the shootings.
St. George slew the dragon.
The king was slain at the battle of Hastings.
execute formal (also put somebody to death) to kill someone as a punishment for a crime:
McVeigh, who killed 168 people in a bombing attack, was executed by lethal injection.
eliminate to kill someone in order to prevent them from causing trouble:
a ruthless dictator who eliminated all his rivals
take somebody out informal to kill someone in order to get rid of them, especially an enemy or someone who is causing trouble for you:
US forces used air strikes to take out the enemy positions.
One of the other drug dealers may have decided to take him out.
bump somebody off humorous informal to kill someone:
He was so irritating I felt like bumping him off myself.
do away with somebody informal to kill someone:
The settlers in Jamestown had been done away with, but no one knew how.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

kill to make someone die:
The driver and his passenger were killed in the crash.
He was killed by rival gang members.
murder to deliberately kill someone – used when talking about this as a crime:
He was convicted of murdering his wife.
commit manslaughter to kill someone without intending to – used when talking about this as a crime:
The court ruled that the guard had committed manslaughter.
assassinate to deliberately kill an important person, especially a politician:
He was part of a plot to assassinate Hitler.
slay to kill someone or something in a violent way – used in newspaper reports and also in old stories:
Two teenagers were slain in the shootings.
St. George slew the dragon.
The king was slain at the battle of Hastings.
execute formal (also put somebody to death) to kill someone as a punishment for a crime:
McVeigh, who killed 168 people in a bombing attack, was executed by lethal injection.
eliminate to kill someone in order to prevent them from causing trouble:
a ruthless dictator who eliminated all his rivals
take somebody out informal to kill someone in order to get rid of them, especially an enemy or someone who is causing trouble for you:
US forces used air strikes to take out the enemy positions.
One of the other drug dealers may have decided to take him out.
bump somebody off humorous informal to kill someone:
He was so irritating I felt like bumping him off myself.
do away with somebody informal to kill someone:
The settlers in Jamestown had been done away with, but no one knew how.
commit suicide to kill yourself:
He committed suicide after the death of his girlfriend.
take your own life formal to kill yourself:
He had taken his own life while he was severely depressed.
They believe that it is a sin to take your own life.
massacre to kill a large number of people in a violent way:
Thousands of peaceful demonstrators were massacred by the soldiers.
slaughter to kill a large number of people in a violent way. Slaughter is also used about killing animals for food:
The army slaughtered thousands of civilians in an effort to stop the revolt.
The pigs were slaughtered on the farm.
exterminate to kill large numbers of a particular group, so that they no longer exist:
Hitler’s goal was to exterminate the Jews.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

kill
kɪl
See: curiosity killed the cat , in at the kill

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲