Kill

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This article is about the act of taking life. For other meanings, see Kill (disambiguation)

Kill means to extinguish the life and hence cause the death of a living organism.

Kill, murder, execute and assassinate

Kill, murder, execute and assassinate all mean to deprive of life.

• Kill is the most general of the four with no implication of the manner, justification, or purpose or nature of what is killed, human being, animal, or plant.
• Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being, or more generally, the killing of an animal by a member of the same species.
• Execute is used with reference to the putting to death of one in accordance with a legal sentence, no matter what the means are.
• Assassination is the deliberate killing of an important person.

Secondary meanings

1. to destroy; do away with; extinguish: His response killed our hopes.
2. to destroy or neutralize the active qualities of: to kill an odor.
3. to spoil the effect of: His extra brushwork killed the painting.
4. to cause (time) to be consumed with seeming rapidity or with a minimum of boredom, esp. by engaging in some easy activity or amusement of passing interest: I had to kill three hours before plane time.
5. to spend (time) unprofitably: He killed ten good years on that job.
6. Informal. to overcome completely or with irresistible effect: That comedian kills me.
7. to muffle or deaden: This carpet kills the sound of footsteps.
8. Informal. to cause distress or discomfort to: These new shoes are killing me.
9. Informal. to tire completely; exhaust: The long hike killed us.
10. Informal. to consume completely: They killed a bottle of bourbon between them.
11. to cancel publication of (a word, paragraph, item, etc.), esp. after it has been set in type.
12. to defeat or veto (a legislative bill, etc.).
13. Elect. to render (a circuit) dead.
14. to stop the operation of (machinery, engines, etc.): He killed the motor and the car stopped.
15. Tennis. to hit (a ball) with such force that its return is impossible.
16. Ice Hockey. to prevent the opposing team from scoring in the course of (a penalty being served by a teammate or teammates).
17. to inflict or cause death.
18. to commit murder.
19. to be killed.
20. to overcome completely; produce an irresistible effect: dressed to kill.
21. Slang. to feel a smarting pain, as from a minor accident; sting: I stubbed my little toe and that really kills.
22. kill with kindness, to overdo in one's efforts to be kind: The aunts would kill their nephews and nieces with kindness.
23. kill off,

• a. to destroy completely; kill, esp. successively or indiscriminately: The invaders killed off all the inhabitants of the town.
• b. Informal. to extinguish; eliminate: The bus ride every day kills off all of my energy.

Nouns

1. the act of killing, esp. game: The hounds moved in for the kill.
2. an animal or animals killed.
3. a number or quantity killed.
4. an act or instance of hitting or destroying a target, esp. an enemy aircraft.
5. the target so hit or destroyed.
6. In sports "kill shot".

Synonyms

slaughter, massacre, butcher, croak, hang, electrocute, behead, guillotine, strangle, garrote, assassinate.

See also

• Killing

 

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