killverb
uk/kɪl/us/kɪl/kill verb (DEATH)
A2 [ I or T ] to cause someone or something to die:
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- The bomb killed four soldiers and three civilians.
- The driver of the van was killed in the accident.
- If you fell off the roof, you'd kill yourself.
- The humane way of dealing with a suffering animal is to kill it quickly.
- It is hoped that the kidnappers will not carry out their threat to kill the hostages.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Murder & attempted murder
- assassinate
- assassination
- attempt
- blow sb away
- blow sb's brains out idiom
- butcher
- dispatch
- lynch
- lynch law
- manslaughter
- martyr
- martyred
- necklace
- poison
- shoot sb down
- slain
- slay
- slaying
- slew 1
- throttle
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kill verb (FINISH)
C2 [ T ] to stop or destroy a relationship, activity, or experience:
[ T ] mainly US informal also kill off to drink all of something:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Destroying and demolishing
- annihilate
- apocalypse
- be sacrificed on the altar of sth idiom
- blast
- blast/blow sb/sth to kingdom come idiom
- costly
- fall in
- kill sth off
- kill the goose that lays the golden egg idiom
- knock
- knock sth down
- sacrifice
- sink
- stave
- stave sth in
- take sb/sth out
- tear 1
- tear sth apart
- tear sth down
- wipe
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kill verb (EFFORT)
C1 [ T ] informal to cause someone a lot of effort or difficulty:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Effort and expending energy
- apply
- assiduous
- be running on empty idiom
- bust a gut idiom
- concentrated
- conscientious
- fight
- jump
- mightily
- mind
- overcompensate
- pains
- painstaking
- painstakingly
- shot
- slog
- slugger
- strenuous
- thirsty work
- trial and error
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kill verb (HURT)
[ T ] informal to cause someone a lot of pain:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Pain & painful
- -racked
- achy
- agonizing
- cluster headache
- dodgy
- earache
- hell
- masochism
- non-ulcer stomach pain
- painful
- painfully
- rack
- racking
- shooting pains
- sore
- suffering
- tender
- throb
- torment
- wince
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kill verb (ANGER)
A2 [ T ] informal If you say that someone will kill you, you mean that they will be very angry with you:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Causing feelings of anger and displeasure
- aggravate
- aggrieve
- alienate
- anger
- annoy
- give sb the shits idiom
- go too far idiom
- goat
- grate
- hack
- hack sb off
- joke
- nose
- ruffle
- ruffle sb's feathers idiom
- set sb's teeth on edge idiom
- step/tread on sb's toes idiom
- stick in sb's craw idiom
- tee
- toe
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kill verb (ENTERTAIN)
[ T ] mainly US informal to make someone laugh a lot:
to laugh very much:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Celebrating & entertaining
- a good time was had by all idiom
- amuse
- amused
- bacchanalian
- banquet
- entertain
- entertaining
- go to town idiom
- have a whale of a time idiom
- host
- kill the fatted calf idiom
- perform
- push
- revel in sth
- revelry
- scintillate
- see in the New Year idiom
- spirit
- throw
- town
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Idiom(s)
Phrasal verb(s)
killnoun [ C usually singular ]
uk/kɪl/us/kɪl/an animal or bird that has been hunted and killed, or the action of killing:
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Hunting & fishing
- angler
- angling
- bait
- beater
- big game
- gun dog
- hare coursing
- harpoon
- hunt
- hunt saboteur
- pointer
- reel
- shooter
- sinker
- smoke
- smoke sb/sth out
- snare
- spoor
- trap
- troll
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