kill
To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
Verb 4 meanings
To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
“Smoking kills more people each year than alcohol and hard drugs combined.”
To render inoperative.
“He killed the engine and turned off the headlights, but remained in the car, waiting.”
To stop, cease, or render void; to terminate.
“The editor decided to kill the story.”
To amaze, exceed, stun, or otherwise incapacitate.
“That night, she was dressed to kill.”
Noun 4 meanings
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.”
An instance of killing; a score on the tally of enemy personnel or vehicles killed or destroyed.
“confirmed kills”
Etymology
From Middle English killen, kyllen, cüllen (“to strike, beat, cut”), of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots kele, keil (“to kill”). * Perhaps from unattested Old English *cyllan, from Proto-West Germanic *kwulljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwuljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to throw, hit, hurt by throwing”).
Similar and opposite words
KILL at a glance
KILL has 4 letters and scores 8 points in Scrabble (K 5 + I 1 + L 1 + L 1) and 10 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #815 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with kill
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