killing

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈkɪl.ɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Freq #933

Meanings

1

noun
The act of causing someone or something to die.

The town was shocked by the brutal killing.
2

noun
A large amount of money made quickly (informal).

He made a killing on the stock market.
3

adj
Extremely funny (informal).

He told a killing joke that had us all in tears.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of causing someone... kill

3 adj · extremely funny (informal). sidesplitting

Word family

Forms killings

Derived forms antikillingcounterkillingkillinglykillingnesskillingryladykillingnonkillingpainkillingphotokillingself-killingsemikillingtime-killing

Related forms death kill

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

mercy killing
the intentional ending of a life to relieve severe suffering

Noun + noun

Idioms (1)

See all

make a killing
to earn a very large amount of money quickly

Etymology

From Middle English kyllyng; equivalent to kill + -ing.

kyllyng Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Register & Style

External links

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