kill1

[kil] /kɪl/
verb (used with object)
1.
to deprive of life in any manner; cause the death of; slay.
Synonyms: slaughter, massacre, butcher; hang, electrocute, behead, guillotine, strangle, garrote; assassinate.
2.
to destroy; do away with; extinguish:
His response killed our hopes.
3.
to destroy or neutralize the active qualities of:
to kill an odor.
4.
to spoil the effect of:
His extra brushwork killed the painting.
5.
to cause (time) to be consumed with seeming rapidity or with a minimum of boredom, especially by engaging in some easy activity or amusement of passing interest:
I had to kill three hours before plane time.
6.
to spend (time) unprofitably:
He killed ten good years on that job.
7.
Informal. to overcome completely or with irresistible effect:
That comedian kills me.
8.
to muffle or deaden:
This carpet kills the sound of footsteps.
9.
Informal. to cause distress or discomfort to:
These new shoes are killing me.
10.
Informal. to tire completely; exhaust:
The long hike killed us.
11.
Informal. to consume completely:
They killed a bottle of bourbon between them.
12.
to cancel publication of (a word, paragraph, item, etc.), especially after it has been set in type.
13.
to defeat or veto (a legislative bill, etc.).
14.
Electricity. to render (a circuit) dead.
15.
to stop the operation of (machinery, engines, etc.):
He killed the motor and the car stopped.
16.
Tennis. to hit (a ball) with such force that its return is impossible.
17.
Metallurgy.
  1. to deoxidize (steel) before teeming into an ingot mold.
  2. to eliminate springiness from (wire or the like).
  3. to cold-roll (sheet metal) after final heat treatment in order to eliminate distortion.
18.
Ice Hockey. to prevent the opposing team from scoring in the course of (a penalty being served by a teammate or teammates).
verb (used without object)
19.
to inflict or cause death.
20.
to commit murder.
21.
to be killed.
22.
to overcome completely; produce an irresistible effect:
dressed to kill.
23.
Slang. to feel a smarting pain, as from a minor accident; sting:
I stubbed my little toe and that really kills.
noun
24.
the act of killing, especially game:
The hounds moved in for the kill.
25.
an animal or animals killed.
26.
a number or quantity killed.
27.
an act or instance of hitting or destroying a target, especially an enemy aircraft.
28.
the target so hit or, especially, destroyed.
29.
Sports. kill shot.
Verb phrases
30.
kill off,
  1. to destroy completely; kill, especially successively or indiscriminately:
    The invaders killed off all the inhabitants of the town.
  2. Informal. to extinguish; eliminate:
    The bus ride every day kills off all of my energy.
Idioms
31.
kill with kindness, to overdo in one's efforts to be kind:
The aunts would kill their nephews and nieces with kindness.
Origin
1175-1225; Middle English cullen, killen to strike, beat, kill, Old English *cyllan; cognate with dialectal German küllen (Westphalian). See quell
Related forms
killable, adjective
self-killed, adjective
unkilled, adjective
Synonym Study
1. Kill, execute, murder all mean to deprive of life. Kill is the general word, with no implication of the manner of killing, the agent or cause, or the nature of what is killed (whether human being, animal, or plant): to kill a person. Execute is used with reference to the putting to death of one in accordance with a legal sentence, no matter what the means are: to execute a criminal. Murder is used of killing a human being unlawfully: He murdered him for his money.
British Dictionary definitions for kill with kindness

kill1

/kɪl/
verb (mainly transitive)
1.
(also intr; when transitive, sometimes foll by off) to cause the death of (a person or animal)
2.
to put an end to; destroy: to kill someone's interest
3.
to make (time) pass quickly, esp while waiting for something
4.
to deaden (sound)
5.
(informal) to tire out; exhaust: the effort killed him
6.
(informal) to cause to suffer pain or discomfort: my shoes are killing me
7.
(informal) to cancel, cut, or delete: to kill three lines of text
8.
(informal) to quash, defeat, or veto: the bill was killed in the House of Lords
9.
(informal) to switch off; stop: to kill a motor
10.
(also intransitive) (informal) to overcome with attraction, laughter, surprise, etc: she was dressed to kill, his gags kill me
11.
(slang) to consume (alcoholic drink) entirely: he killed three bottles of rum
12.
(sport) to hit (a ball) so hard or so accurately that the opponent cannot return it
13.
(soccer) to bring (a moving ball) under control; trap
14.
(informal) kill oneself, to overexert oneself: don't kill yourself
15.
kill two birds with one stone, to achieve two results with one action
noun
16.
the act of causing death, esp at the end of a hunt, bullfight, etc
17.
the animal or animals killed during a hunt
18.
(NZ) the seasonal tally of stock slaughtered at a freezing works
19.
the destruction of a battleship, tank, etc
20.
in at the kill, present at the end or climax of some undertaking
Word Origin
C13 cullen; perhaps related to Old English cwellan to kill; compare German (Westphalian dialect) küllen; see quell

kill2

/kɪl/
noun
1.
(US) a channel, stream, or river (chiefly as part of place names)
Word Origin
C17: from Middle Dutch kille; compare Old Norse kīll small bay, creek
Word Origin and History for kill with kindness

kill

v.

c.1200, "to strike, hit, beat, knock;" c.1300, "to deprive of life," perhaps from an unrecorded variant of Old English cwellan "to kill" (see quell), but the earliest sense suggests otherwise. Sense in to kill time is from 1728. Related: Killed; killing. Kill-devil, colloquial for "rum," especially if new or of bad quality, is from 1630s.

n.

early 13c., "a stroke, a blow," from kill (v.). Meaning "act of killing" is from 1814; that of "a killed animal" is from 1878. Lawn tennis serve sense is from 1903. The kill "the knockout" is boxing jargon, 1950.

"stream," 1630s, American English, from Dutch kil, from Middle Dutch kille "riverbed," especially in place names (e.g. Schuylkill). A common Germanic word, the Old Norse form, kill, meant "bay, gulf" and gave its name to Kiel Fjord on the German Baltic coast and thence to Kiel, the port city founded there in 1240.

Slang definitions & phrases for kill with kindness

kill

noun
  1. A murder: for the Shannon kill (1930s+)
  2. An enemy airplane, ship, tank, etc, destroyed (WWII armed forces)
verb
  1. To drink or eat up: The lady killed a dozen oysters (1833+)
  2. To spoil or ruin: One bad grade killed his chances for med school (1573+)
  3. To demoralize totally; make hopeless: The third defeat killed him (1940s+)
  4. To be extremely successful with: The Evergreen Review kills him (1899+)
  5. To make an audience helpless with laughter; fracture: My McEnroe act kills 'em (1856+)
  6. To do very easily; ace: I killed the geology final (1900+ Students)
  7. To eliminate a newspaper story or part of it (1865+)
  8. To extinguish a light (1934+)
  9. To stop or turn off a motor (1886+)
Related Terms

in at the kill, killer


Idioms and Phrases with kill with kindness

kill with kindness

Overwhelm or harm someone with mistaken or excessive benevolence. For example, Aunt Mary constantly sends Jane chocolates and cake and other goodies, even though she's been told Jane's on a diet—nothing like killing with kindness. This expression originated as kill with kindness as fond apes do their young (presumably crushing them to death in a hug) and was a proverb by the mid-1500s.

kill

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