v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Killed p. pr. & vb. n. Killing. ] [ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ah, kill me with thy weapon, not with words ! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To destroy; to ruin; as, to kill one's chances; to kill the sale of a book. “To kill thine honor.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Her lively color kill'd with deadly cares. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause to cease; to quell; to calm; to still; as, in seamen's language, a shower of rain kills the wind; new sound insultation killed the loud noises from outside. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

Be comforted, good madam; the great rage,
You see, is killed in him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To destroy the effect of; to counteract; to neutralize; as, alkali kills acid. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To waste or spend unprofitably; -- usually used of time; as, he killed an hour waiting for the doctor to see him. [ PJC ]

6. To cancel or forbid publication of (a report, article, etc.), after it has been written; as, they killed the article after getting threats of a lawsuit. [ PJC ]

To kill time, to busy one's self with something which occupies the attention, or makes the time pass without tediousness.

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 to murder suddenly and by stealth. The sheriff may kill without murdering; the duelist murders, but does not assassinate his antagonist; the assassin kills and murders.

n. A kiln. [ Obs. ] Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ D. kil. ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of killing.

“There is none like to me!” says the cub in the pride of his earliest kill. Kipling. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. An animal killed in the hunt, as by a beast of prey.

If ye plunder his kill from a weaker, devour not all in thy pride. Kipling. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

adj. fit to kill, especially for food. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } n. [ So named from its notes. ] (Zool.) A small American plover (Charadrius vociferus, formerly Aegialitis vocifera) of inland waters and fields having a distinctive cry. The adult has two black bands around the neck and upper breast, but the young chick has only the breast band. It ranges from Canada to Mexico and the West Indies.
Syn. -- kildeer, killdeer plover, Charadrius vociferus. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

☞ It is dark grayish brown above; the rump and upper tail coverts are yellowish rufous; the belly, throat, and a line over the eyes, white; a ring round the neck and band across the breast, black. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who deprives of life; one who, or that which, kills. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) A voracious, toothed whale of the genus Orca, of which several species are known; called also killer whale. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The killers have a high dorsal fin, and powerful jaws armed with large, sharp teeth. They capture, and swallow entire, large numbers of seals, porpoises, and dolphins, and are celebrated for their savage, combined attacks upon the right whales, which they are said to mutilate and kill. The common Atlantic species (Orca gladiator), is found both on the European and the American coast. Two species (Orca ater and Orca rectipinna) occur on the Pacific coast. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. see killer{ 2 }. [ PJC ]

n. [ Cf. Coulisse. ] (Arch.) (a) A gutter, groove, or channel. (b) A hipped roof. [ Prov. Eng. ] Parker. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) Any one of several small American cyprinodont fishes of the genus Fundulus and allied genera. They live equally well in fresh and brackish water, or even in the sea. They are usually striped or barred with black. Called also minnow, and brook fish. See Minnow. [ 1913 Webster ]