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Definition of death ray
: a weapon that generates an intense beam of particles or radiation by which it destroys its target
Examples of death ray in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web His second-in-command, Janney’s Pam Gluckin, is more hard-nosed—her deadpan glare is practically a death ray.
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Stephanie Zacharek, Time, "HBO's Gripping Bad Education Tells the Story of a Truly Epic Scam," 15 Apr. 2020 Roy Weatherby's darling, the .257, is one of the most powerful commercially available .25 calibers, and kills deer like a death ray.
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Jeff Johnston, Field & Stream, "11 Best Rifle Cartridges for Whitetail Deer," 22 Aug. 2019 The Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes used the parabolic mirror, so the story goes, to deter a fleet of approaching ships, crafting a solar death ray using panels of what was likely polished bronze.
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Maya Wei-haas, Smithsonian, "Your Burning Questions About the Olympic Torch, Answered," 9 Feb. 2018 Despite his breakthrough inventions (alternating current, fluorescent bulbs, lasers, robotics, wireless power and even a death ray), he's fallen into obscurity.
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Andrea Simakis, cleveland.com, "2017 Fall Theater Preview: World premieres, ambitious works take center stage at Cleveland's small professional houses," 24 Sep. 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'death ray.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for death ray
The first known use of death ray was in 1896
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