Synonyms

murderer

American

[mur-der-er] / ˈmɜr dər ər /

noun

a person who commits murder.

idioms

murderers' row,
1. the row of cells in a prison where murderers and other violent or hard-core criminals are held.
2. Baseball. a succession of heavy hitters scheduled to bat one after the other.
3. any group of notorious or important people.
  
  a murderers' row of talent;
  a murderers' row of philosophers.

Other Word Forms

self-murderer noun

Etymology

Origin of murderer

1300–50; Middle English mortherer, mord ( e ) rer; murder, -er ¹

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.

In just a few weeks, the spirit had answered so many questions so accurately that residents felt responsible for finding the peddler’s murderer.

From Literature

Last year, the Scottish Parliament passed legislation which means the parole board must take into account a murderer's refusal to reveal what became of their victim's body.

From BBC

Outside the United Nations, around 200 demonstrators denounced Iran's deadly protest crackdown, holding placards reading: "No negotiations with murderers".

From Barron's

There is a possible motive for the police to try to frame Benguit - their failure to stop a suspected murderer from killing again.

From BBC

In the original, Hanks’ character is driven to madness, imagining that his neighbors in the creepy house across the street might be murderers.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023