killing

[ kil-ing ]
/ ˈkɪl ɪŋ /

noun

the act of a person or thing that kill.
the total game killed on a hunt.
a quick and unusually large profit or financial gain: a killing in the stock market.

adjective

that kills.
exhausting: a killing pace.
Informal. irresistibly funny.

Origin of killing

1400–50; late Middle English (gerund); see kill1, -ing1, -ing2

OTHER WORDS FROM killing

kill·ing·ly, adverb self-kill·ing, adjective un·kill·ing, adjective

Definition for killing (2 of 2)

Origin of kill

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English cullen, killen “to strike, beat, kill,” Old English cyllan (unattested); cognate with dialectal German küllen (Westphalian). Cf. quell

synonym study for kill

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM kill

kill·a·ble, adjective self-killed, adjective un·killed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH kill

kill kiln execute kill murder (see synonym study at the current entry)

Example sentences from the Web for killing

British Dictionary definitions for killing (1 of 3)

killing
/ (ˈkɪlɪŋ) /

adjective

informal very tiring; exhausting a killing pace
informal extremely funny; hilarious
causing death; fatal

noun

the act of causing death; slaying
informal a sudden stroke of success, usually financial, as in speculations on the stock market (esp in the phrase make a killing)

Derived forms of killing

killingly, adverb

British Dictionary definitions for killing (2 of 3)

kill 1
/ (kɪl) /

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Word Origin for kill

C13 cullen; perhaps related to Old English cwellan to kill; compare German (Westphalian dialect) küllen; see quell

British Dictionary definitions for killing (3 of 3)

kill 2
/ (kɪl) /

noun

US a channel, stream, or river (chiefly as part of place names)

Word Origin for kill

C17: from Middle Dutch kille; compare Old Norse kīll small bay, creek

Idioms and Phrases with killing

kill