kill - What does it mean?
'kill' hits on the web
You may have been searching for a specific social media @kill profile or the tag #kill
Definition of 'kill'Etymology 1
From (etyl) killen, kyllen, , (etyl) kellen.
Verb
( en-verb)
To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
- Smoking kills more people each year than alcohol and drugs combined.
- There is conclusive evidence that smoking kills .
(fiction) To invent a story that conveys the death of (a character).
- Shakespeare killed Romeo and Juliet for drama.
To render inoperative.
- He killed the engine and turned off the headlights, but remained in the car, waiting.
- (1978):
:: 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.
(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.
(transitive|figuratively|hyperbole) To amaze, exceed, stun or otherwise incapacitate.
- That night, she was dressed to kill .
- That joke always kills me.
(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.
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."
(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.
(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.
To force a company out of business.
(informal) 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 .
(figuratively|informal|hyperbole) To punish severely.
- My parents are going to kill me!
(sports) To strike a ball or similar object with such force and placement as to make a shot that is impossible to defend against, usually winning a point.
* {{quote-news
|year=2011
|date=February 4
|author=Gareth Roberts
|title=Wales 19-26 England
|work=BBC
citation
|page=
|passage=That close call encouraged Wales to launch another series of attacks that ended when lock Louis Deacon killed the ball illegally in the shadow of England's posts.}}
(mathematics|transitive|idiomatic|informal) To cause to assume the value zero.
(computing|Internet|IRC) To disconnect (a user) forcibly from the network.
Synonyms
* (to put to death) assassinate, bump off, ice, knock off, liquidate, murder, rub out, slaughter, slay, top, whack
* (to use up or waste) fritter away, while away
* (to render inoperative) break, deactivate, disable, turn off
* (to exert an overwhelming effect on) annihilate (informal)
* See also
Noun
( en-noun)
The act of killing.
- The assassin liked to make a clean kill , and thus favored small arms over explosives.
Specifically, the death blow.
- The hunter delivered the kill with a pistol shot to the head.
The result of killing; that which has been killed.
- The fox dragged its kill back to its den.
(volleyball) The grounding of the ball on the opponent's court, winning the rally.
* 2011 , the 34th Catawba College Sports Hall of Fame'', in '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.
Derived terms
* in for the kill
* thrill kill
Etymology 2
From (etyl)
Noun
( en-noun)
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''', Cats'''kill , etc.
Etymology 3
|