kill

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /kɪl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Verb

Plain form kill

Third-person singular kills

Past tense killed

Past participle killed

Present participle killing

an illustration of a man killing (sense 1) another man

1. To kill a person, thing, or an animal means to cause a person, thing, or an animal to die.
   • Synonym: murder

   Smoking kills more people each year than alcohol and drugs combined.

2. To make something not work.

   He killed the engine and turned off the headlights, but remained in the car, waiting.

3. If someone kills a thing, they bring it to an end.

   Kill the jokes. Let's get serious.

4. If something has been killed, it has been treated in a very bad way.

   The rough road killed the tires on my car.

   The small writing is killing my eyes.

   My dad is going to kill me when he sees my bad grade.

5. If something is killing a person, it causes pain. If a body part is killing a person, it hurts.

   My headache is killing me.

   My head is killing me.

6. If something funny kills a person, it makes them laugh.

   Your jokes just kill me.

Noun

Singular kill

Plural kills

1. The act of killing.
   • Synonym: murder

   The assassin liked to make a clean kill, and thus favored small arms over explosives.

2. The result of killing; the thing that has been killed.

   The fox dragged its kill back to its den.

Related words

• killer
• killer instinct