Kill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Killed; p. pr. & vb. n. Killing.]
Etymology: [OE. killen, kellen, cullen, to kill, strike; perh. the same word as cwellen, quellen, to kill (cf. Quell), or perh. rather akin to Icel. kolla to hit in the head, harm, kollr top, summit, head, Sw. kulle, D. kollen to kill with the ax.]
1. To deprive of life, animal or vegetable, in any manner or by any means; to render inanimate; to put to death; to slay. Ah, kill me with thy weapon, not with words ! Shak.
2. To destroy; to ruin; as, to kill one's chances; to kill the sale of a book. "To kill thine honor." Shak. Her lively color kill'd with deadly cares. Shak.
3. To cause to cease; to quell; to calm; to still; as, in seamen's language, a shower of rain kills the wind. Be comforted, good madam; the great rage, You see, is killed in him. Shak.
4. To destroy the effect of; to counteract; to neutralize; as, alkali kills acid. To kill time, to busy one's self with something which occupies the attention, or makes the time pass without tediousness.
1 more senses
Syn. -- To murder; assassinate; slay; butcher; destroy. -- To Kill, Murder, Assassinate. To kill does not necessarily mean any more than to deprive of life. A man may kill another by accident or in self-defense, without the imputation of guilt. To murder is to kill with malicious forethought and intention. To assassinate is tomurder suddenly and by stealth. The sheriff may kill without murdering; the duelist murders, but does not assassinate his antagonist; the assassin kills and murders.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Kill, n.
A kiln. [Obs.] Fuller.
Kill, n.
A channel or arm of the sea; a river; a stream; as, the channel between Staten Island and Bergen Neck is the Kill van Kull, or the Kills; -- used also in composition; as, Schuylkill, Catskill, etc.
Shades of meaning
To kill is simply to deprive of life, human, animal, or vegetable, with no suggestion of how or why. Assassinate, execute, murder, apply only to the taking of human life; to murder is to kill with premeditation and malicious intent; to execute is to kill in fulfilment of a legal sentence; to assassinate is to kill by assault; this word is chiefly applied to the killing of public or eminent persons through alleged political motives, whether secretly or openly. To slay is to kill by a blow, or by a weapon. Butcher and slaughter apply primarily to the killing of cattle; massacre is applied primarily and almost exclusively to human beings, signifying to kill them indiscriminately in large numbers; to massacre is said when there is no chance of successful resistance; to butcher when the killing is especially brutal; soldiers mown down in a hopeless charge are said to be slaughtered when no brutality on the enemy's part is implied. To despatch is to kill swiftly and in general quietly, always with intention, with or without right.
Prepositions
To kill with or by sword, famine, pestilence, care, grief, etc.; killed for his money, by a robber, with a dagger.