Kill
/kɪl/
Definitions
4 meaningsTo cause the death of a person, animal, or other living thing.
/kɪl/
To cause the death of a living being.
The lion killed the zebra.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're playing a game. When you defeat your opponent in the game, they are 'killed' in the game. This real-world action involves taking away someone's life, like taking away all their energy.
👶 For kids: To make something or someone stop living.
More Examples
He accidentally killed a spider.
The disease killed many people.
How It's Used
"The hunter killed the deer."
"The suspect was accused of killing his neighbor."
To bring to an end; to destroy the effectiveness of something.
/kɪl/
To destroy or end something.
The new regulations will kill the small businesses.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're working on a project, but your boss decides to cancel it. They 'kill' the project, which is like the project's life being over, or stopped.
👶 For kids: To stop something from happening or being used.
More Examples
The rain killed our picnic.
He killed the music on his phone.
How It's Used
"The company decided to kill the project."
"The movie was so bad, it killed the mood."
To exhaust or tire oneself or someone greatly.
/kɪl/
To exhaust or tire (oneself) greatly.
The hike really killed me.
💡 Simply: When you are doing sports and your body is hurting, your body is really 'killed' or tired from overworking.
👶 For kids: To make someone very, very tired.
More Examples
He knew the amount of work he was doing would kill him.
The long drive killed her.
How It's Used
"That workout really killed my legs!"
"The long day of work really killed me"
To be very effective or successful at doing something; to completely surpass or overwhelm.
/kɪl/
To overcome, deal with, or neutralize something.
He killed it on the dance floor!
💡 Simply: When someone's jokes are really funny and everyone's laughing, you can say, 'they're killing it' because they are very good at telling the joke.
👶 For kids: To do a really, really good job at something.
More Examples
The band killed it during the concert.
She killed the presentation.
How It's Used
"She killed the meeting by asking everyone to leave."
"The comedian killed on stage."
Synonyms & Antonyms
Idioms & expressions
kill two birds with one stone
To achieve two things at the same time.
"By walking to work, she kills two birds with one stone: she gets exercise and saves money."
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
A difficult experience often makes you stronger or more resilient.
"After the divorce, she was devastated, but she knew that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
From Old English *cyllan* (to kill, strike, smite), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Old High German *kellen* (to strike, beat) and Proto-Germanic *kuljaną*. The original sense may have been 'to strike, beat'.
The word has been used since Old English with the core meaning of 'to destroy life'. Its usage has expanded over time to include the ending of projects and the destruction of things.
Memory tip
Think of the word "skull." Killing results in death, and the skull represents death.
Word Origin
"to strike, to destroy"