Kill

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Kill, n. 

 A kiln.  Fuller.  [1913 Webster]

Kill, n. [D. kil.].

 A channel or arm of the sea; a river; a stream; as, the channel between Staten Island and Bergen Neck is the Kill van Kull, or the Kills; -- used also in composition; as, Schuylkill, Catskill, etc.  [1913 Webster]

Kill, v. t. [OE. killen, kellen, cullen, to kill, strike; perh. the same word as cwellen, quellen, to kill (cf. Quell), or perh. rather akin to Icel. kolla to hit in the head, harm, kollr top, summit, head, Sw. kulle, D. kollen to kill with the ax.].

•  To deprive of life, animal or vegetable, in any manner or by any means; to render inanimate; to put to death; to slay.  [1913 Webster]

  "Ah, kill me with thy weapon, not with words !"  [1913 Webster]
•  To destroy; to ruin; as, to kill one's chances; to kill the sale of a book.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

  "Her lively color kill'd with deadly cares."  [1913 Webster]
•  To cause to cease; to quell; to calm; to still; as, in seamen's language, a shower of rain kills the wind; new sound insultation killed the loud noises from outside.  [1913 Webster]

  "Be comforted, good madam; the great rage,
  You see, is killed in him."  [1913 Webster]
•  To destroy the effect of; to counteract; to neutralize; as, alkali kills acid.  [1913 Webster]
•  To waste or spend unprofitably; -- usually used of time; as, he killed an hour waiting for the doctor to see him.  [PJC]
•  To cancel or forbid publication of (a report, article, etc.), after it has been written; as, they killed the article after getting threats of a lawsuit.  [PJC]

To kill time, to busy one's self with something which occupies the attention, or makes the time pass without tediousness.

Syn. -- To murder; assassinate; slay; butcher; destroy. -- To Kill, Murder, Assassinate. To kill does not necessarily mean any more than to deprive of life. A man may kill another by accident or in s

Kill, n. 

•  The act of killing.

  "“There is none like to me!” says the cub in the pride of his earliest kill."  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
•  An animal killed in the hunt, as by a beast of prey.

  "If ye plunder his kill from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride."  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Kill, v. & n.
--v.tr.
1 a deprive of life or vitality; put to death; cause the death of. b (absol.) cause or bring about death (must kill to survive).
2 destroy; put an end to (feelings etc.) (overwork killed my enthusiasm).
3 refl. (often foll. by pres. part.) colloq. a overexert oneself (don't kill yourself lifting them all at once). b laugh heartily.
4 colloq. overwhelm (a person) with amusement, delight, etc. (the things he says really kill me).
5 switch off (a spotlight, engine, etc.).
6 colloq. delete (a line, paragraph, etc.) from a computer file.
7 colloq. cause pain or discomfort to (my feet are killing me).
8 pass (time, or a specified amount of it) usu. while waiting for a specific event (had an hour to kill before the interview).
9 defeat (a bill in Parliament).
10 colloq. consume the entire contents of (a bottle of wine etc.).
11 a Tennis etc. hit (the ball) so skilfully that it cannot be returned. b stop (the ball) dead.
12 neutralize or render ineffective (taste, sound, colour, etc.) (thick carpet killed the sound of footsteps).
--n.
1 an act of killing (esp. an animal).
2 an animal or animals killed, esp. by a sportsman.
3 colloq. the destruction or disablement of an enemy aircraft, submarine, etc.

Idiom

dressed to kill dressed showily, alluringly, or impressively. in at the kill present at or benefiting from the successful conclusion of an enterprise. kill off
1 get rid of or destroy completely (esp. a number of persons or things).
2 (of an author) bring about the death of (a fictional character). kill or cure (usu. attrib.) (of a remedy etc.) drastic, extreme. kill two birds with one stone achieve two aims at once. kill with kindness spoil (a person) with overindulgence.

Etymology

ME c{uuml}lle, kille, perh. ult. rel. to QUELL

DEVIL DICTIONARY

Kill

v.t. To create a vacancy without nominating a successor.

THESAURUS

Kill

KO, abbreviate, abridge, absorb, adolescent stream, amuse, annihilate, arroyo, asphyxiate, assassinate, bane, beasts of venery, beck, beguile, bereave of life, big game, black out, blood, bloodletting, bloodshed, blot out, blue-pencil, bottle up, bourn, bowdlerize, braided stream, braining, branch, brook, brooklet, bump off, burn, butcher, call off, cancel, carry away, carry off, censor, channel, chloroform, choke, choke off, clamp down on, close, complete, conclusion, constitute, consume, convulse, cork, cork up, coup de grace, crack down on, creek, crick, cross out, crush, cut, cut down, cut off, cut short, damp, damp down, deaden, dealing death, death, deathblow, decimate, decree, defeat, delete, delight, denouement, deprive of life, destroy, destruction, destruction of life, devastate, dispatch, dispose of, divert, do away with, do for, do in, do to death, down, drop the curtain, drown, dull, edit, edit out, eliminate, enact, enact laws, end, end off, enliven, entertain, eradicate, erase, euthanasia, execute, execution, exhaust, exhilarate, expunge, expurgate, exterminate, extermination, extinguish, fag out, fatigue, filibuster, fill, finalize, finish, finish off, flow of blood, flowing stream, fluviation, fold up, fracture one, fresh, freshet, gag, game, get it over, get over with, get rid of, get the floor, get through with, gill, give the quietus, gore, have the floor, hit, hold down, hugger-mugger, hurt, hush, hush up, hush-hush, ice, idle, immolate, immolation, jump on, kayo, keep down, keep under, kibosh, killing, knife, knock dead, knock off, knock out, lapidation, launch into eternity, lay low, lazy stream, legislate, liquidate, lobby through, logroll, loosen up, lynch, make away with, martyr, martyrdom, martyrization, martyrize, massacre, meandering stream, mercy killing, midchannel, midstream, millstream, moving road, muffle, murder, muzzle, navigable river, negative, neutralize, nip, nullify, obliterate, occupy, omit, ordain, pain, pass, perfect, pigeonhole, pocket, poison, poisoning, polish off, pour water on, prey, purge, put away, put down, put in force, put paid to, put through, put to death, put to sleep, quarry, quash, quell, quench, race, racing stream, railroad through, raise a laugh, raise a smile, ravage, recreate, refresh, regale, relax, remove from life, repress, rescind, ritual killing, ritual murder, river, rivulet, roll logs, rub out, ruin, rule against, run, rundle, runlet, runnel, sacrifice, scrag, shoot, shoot down, shooting, shush, shut, shut down, shut down on, shut off, sike, silence, sit down on, sit on, slaughter, slay, slaying, smash, smother, snuff out, solace, spend, spill stream, squash, squelch, stanch, starve, stifle, still, stoning, strangle, stream, stream action, streamlet, strike, strike off, strike out, stultify, subdue, subterranean river, suffocate, suppress, switch off, table, take life, take off, take the floor, taking of life, termination, the hunted, throttle, tickle, tire out, titillate, to, torment, torture, turn off, use up, venery, veto, victim, void, wadi, waste, watercourse, waterway, weary, while away, wipe out, wow, yield the floor, zap

ROGET THESAURUS

Kill

Killing

VB kill, put to death, slay, shed blood, murder, assassinate, butcher, slaughter, victimize, immolate, massacre, take away life, deprive of life, make away with, put an end to, despatch, dispatch, burke, settle, do for, strangle, garrote, hang, throttle, choke, stifle, suffocate, stop the breath, smother, asphyxiate, drown, saber, cut down, cut to pieces, cut the throat, jugulate, stab, run through the body, bayonet, eviscerate, put to the sword, put to the edge of the sword, shoot dead, blow one's brains out, brain, knock on the head, stone, lapidate, give a deathblow, deal a deathblow, give a quietus, give a coupe de grace, behead, bowstring, electrocute, gas, hunt, shoot, cut off, nip in the bud, launch into eternity, send to one's last account, sign one's death warrant, strike the death knell of, give no quarter, pour out blood like water, decimate, run amuck, wade knee deep in blood, imbrue one's hands in blood, die a violent death, welter in one's blood, dash out one's brains, blow out one's brains, commit suicide, kill oneself, make away with oneself, put an end to oneself, put an end to it all.