killing
Americannoun
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the act of a person or thing that kills.
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the total game killed on a hunt.
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Informal. a quick and unusually large profit or financial gain.
We would all like to win the lottery or make a killing in the stock market.
adjective
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Tuberculosis was a killing disease well into the 20th century, and society found itself with few remedies.
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exhausting.
An ever-expanding workload is imperceptible at first, but eventually we're operating at a killing pace.
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Informal. irresistibly funny.
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Slang. very attractive or fascinating.
The actress is known for her outstanding beauty and killing smile.
adjective
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informal very tiring; exhausting
a killing pace
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informal extremely funny; hilarious
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causing death; fatal
noun
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the act of causing death; slaying
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informal a sudden stroke of success, usually financial, as in speculations on the stock market (esp in the phrase make a killing )
Other Word Forms
- killingly adverb
- self-killing adjective
- unkilling adjective
Etymology
Origin of killing
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English killing(e), kyllyng(e) (gerund); kill 1, -ing 1, -ing 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Iran's security chief Ali Larijani said the transition process following the killing will begin from Sunday.
From Barron's
Crowds gathered on Sunday in Iran's south to call for vengeance following the killing of Khamenei in US and Israeli attacks, Iranian media reported.
From Barron's
Now, “the arrow of causality has flipped” on the view that “AI is killing the jobs first, and that’s what’s making the economy sick.”
From MarketWatch
Security analysts say the group’s horizontal, franchise-like structure allowed it to engineer a rapid response to Oseguera’s killing — and will allow it to do business as usual in the coming months.
From Los Angeles Times
At the time of the killings, he had been caretaker at Soham Village College, the local state secondary school.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
