Main Entry: ¹kill

Pronunciation: \ˈkil\

Function: verb

Etymology: Middle English, perhaps from Old English *cyllan; akin to Old English cwellan to kill — more at quell

Date: 14th century

transitive verb 1 a : to deprive of life : cause the death of b (1) : to slaughter (as a hog) for food (2) : to convert a food animal into (a kind of meat) by slaughtering
2 a : to put an end to <kill competition> b : defeat, veto <killed the amendment> c : to mark for omission; also : delete d : annihilate, destroy <kill an enemy>
3 a : to destroy the vital or essential quality of <killed the pain with drugs> b : to cause to stop <kill the motor> c : to check the flow of current through
4 : to make a markedly favorable impression on <she killed the audience>
5 : to get through uneventfully <kill time>; also : to get through (the time of a penalty) without being scored on <kill a penalty>
6 a : to cause extreme pain to b : to tire almost to the point of collapse
7 : to hit (a shot) so hard in various games that a return is impossible
8 : to consume (as a drink) totallyintransitive verb 1 : to deprive one of life
2 : to make a markedly favorable impression <was dressed to kill>

synonyms kill, slay, murder, assassinate, dispatch, execute mean to deprive of life. kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner <killed in an accident> <frost killed the plants>. slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive <slew thousands of the Philistines>. murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility <convicted of murdering a rival>. assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives <terrorists assassinated the Senator>. dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death <dispatched the sentry with one bullet>. execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty <executed by lethal gas>.