Added 8 October 2026
kill
/ˈkɪl/ verb
In Latin: occīdō, interficiō, necō Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about kill at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
Smoking kills more people each year than alcohol and hard drugs combined.
-
To render inoperative.
He killed the engine and turned off the headlights, but remained in the car, waiting.
-
To stop, cease, or render void; to terminate.
The editor decided to kill the story.
noun
noun
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A creek or stream; any watercourse, such as a channel or arm of the sea.
The channel beyond Staten Island, which connects Newark Bay with Bergen Neck is the Kill van Kull, or the Kills.
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In particular, a waterway with a name ending in kill, such as the Beaverkill or the East Kill.
We're gonna go flyfishing over in the kill.
noun
- Alternative form of kiln.
Origin
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).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)