kill

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To make a person, animal, or plant die.

   The disease has killed thousands of people in the region.

2. 2
   verb

   To stop a machine or engine from working (informal).

   He killed the engine and sat in silence.

3. 3
   verb

   To make someone feel extremely tired or in pain (informal).

   My feet are killing me after that long walk.

Multiword verbs with kill

• kill off Phrasal verb A2

  to cause many members of a living group to die

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Kill is of unknown origin, though it may be related to Old English quell, which meant “to kill.” Early uses of kill could instead mean “to strike” or “assault,” so the phrase kill someone to death was once possible.

From Middle English killen, kyllen, cüllen (“to strike, beat, cut”), of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots kele, keil (“to kill”). * Perhaps from unattested Old English *cyllan, from Proto-West Germanic *kwulljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwuljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to throw, hit, hurt by throwing”). * Or, possibly a variant of Old English cwellan (“to kill, murder, execute”) (see quell). * Or, from Old Norse kolla (“to hit on the head, harm”), related to Norwegian kylla (“to poll”), Middle Dutch kollen (“to knock down”), Icelandic kollur (“top, head”); see also coll, cole). Compa…

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