Killing

/ˈkɪlɪŋ/

Meaning & Definition

noun

An act of killing or the result of such an act; a murder.

The killing of the politician shocked the nation.

A great success or accomplishment, often in terms of profit or achievement.

The new movie was a killing at the box office.

verb

The act of causing the death of a living being.

He was charged with killing the animal in self-defense.

To put an end to; destroy.

The vaccine is aimed at killing the virus before it spreads.

adjective

Causing death or extreme harm.

The killing disease spread rapidly through the population.

Extremely effective or successful.

She delivered a killing performance that wowed the audience.

From Old English cwellan (to kill), from Proto-Germanic *kwelwō (to kill).

killing time

to spend time doing something that is not important especially while waiting.

make a killing

to earn a large amount of money quickly.

killing it

to be very successful at something.

kill

to cause the death of a living being.

slay

to kill in a violent way.

execute

to carry out a sentence of death on a person.

to do something extremely well

He is killing it in his new job.

to have a very good time

We were just killing it at the party.