death blow

noun

variants or deathblow
1
: a forcible stroke that kills a living thing : an act that ends the life of a person or animal
A gaping wound in the back of his head suggests the death blow was delivered by a halberd, a bladed pole weapon favored in the 15th century.Rachel Ehrenberg
… the tooth helps to dislocate the prey's neck vertebrae, the death blow most often dealt to small mammals and birds.Sarah A. Sloane
2
: an act or event that causes the end or failure of something
It shows how investors with risky business plans, unrealistic financial assumptions, and competing agendas can deliver a death blow to companies that otherwise could have survived.Emily Thornton
Nevis's fortunes declined after 1822, when the European sugar beet dealt a deathblow to the distant, inefficient cane mills of the Indies.Peter Theroux

Examples of death blow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But the introduction and rapid adoption of mobile phones dealt a death blow to their usage—seemingly in the blink of an eye. Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2025 Investors and researchers were shaken by that ruling, but not deterred, viewing it more as a hurdle than a death blow. Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 18 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of death blow was circa 1586

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Cite this Entry

“Death blow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20blow. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

deathblow

noun
death·​blow -ˌblō How to pronounce deathblow (audio)
: a destructive or killing stroke or event
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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