killer A2 Topic:People & Society US /ˈkɪlɚ/ UK /ˈkɪlə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual Freq #938 Meanings 1 noun A person who kills another person. The police are searching for the killer. 2 noun Something that causes death. Heart disease is the biggest killer in the country. 3 noun Something very difficult or exhausting (informal). That final exam was a real killer. Thesaurus Synonyms 2 noun · something that causes death. cause of death More homicidehomicider ↔ Opposites healer Word family Forms killers Derived forms baby-killerboner-killerchrist-killercop-killergiant-killergiantkillergodkillerhunter-killerkillerballkilleresskillerishkillerly Related forms anusvaracandrabinducriminalfighterkillkillingmercenarysoldiersukunterroristvisargawarrior Common collocations catch a killer Verb + noun serial killer Adjective + noun hunt a killer Verb + noun identify a killer Verb + noun hired killer Adjective + noun convict a killer Verb + noun Etymology AI details From Middle English killer, kyller. By surface analysis, kill + -er. killer Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society Register & Style External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # killer **Type:** Word **Level:** A2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈkɪlɚ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkɪlə(ɹ)/ **Frequency rank:** 938 ## Meanings 1. A person who kills another person. 2. Something that causes death. 3. Something very difficult or exhausting (informal). ## Examples - The police are searching for the killer. - Heart disease is the biggest killer in the country. - That final exam was a real killer. ## Synonyms - homicide - homicider ## Antonyms - healer ## Derived Forms - baby-killer - boner-killer - christ-killer - cop-killer - giant-killer - giantkiller - godkiller - hunter-killer - killerball - killeress - killerish - killerly ## Related Forms - anusvara - candrabindu - criminal - fighter - kill - killing - mercenary - soldier - sukun - terrorist - visarga - warrior ## Roots and Affixes - Root: killer ## Etymology From Middle English killer, kyller. By surface analysis, kill + -er. ## AI Etymology Killer comes from Middle English killer, kyller. By surface analysis, kill + -er. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. ## Topics - People & Society - Register & Style markdown