- kill
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} nounADJECTIVE▪ clean, easy, quick▪ fresh▪
vultures sensing a fresh kill
▪ fish (AmE)▪the worst fish kill in recorded history
VERB + KILL▪ make▪The lion made a quick kill.
▪ be in at (BrE)▪I didn't even see the fox, let alone be in at the kill.
▪ close in for, go in for, move in for▪The hunters moved in for the kill.
PREPOSITION▪ at the kill (BrE)▪The meat is divided up among all those present at the kill.
▪ for the kill▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}The animal crouched down, getting ready for the kill.
verbADVERB▪ outright▪He has fought more than fifty bulls, killing three outright.
▪ almost, nearly▪ instantly▪ quickly▪The animals are killed quickly and humanely.
▪ slowly▪The poison was slowly killing her.
▪ eventually, finally▪the camp guards who tortured and eventually killed her
▪ accidentally, inadvertently▪ deliberately, intentionally▪I don't believe that he intentionally killed her.
▪ allegedly▪his trial for allegedly killing his wife
▪ unlawfully (BrE, law)▪The inquest concluded that he was unlawfully killed.
▪ needlessly▪the number of people needlessly killed by hospital infections
▪ indiscriminately▪The terrorists had shown their willingness to kill indiscriminately.
▪ systematically▪The militias are systematically killing and raping civilians.
▪ brutally▪There were reports of people brutally killed.
VERB + KILL▪ want to▪ be prepared to▪They are quite prepared to kill to achieve their ends.
▪ threaten to▪ be going to, intend to, mean to, plan to▪He knew they meant to kill him.
▪What if they really do plan to kill us?
▪Dad's going to kill me when he finds out. (figurative)
▪ plot to▪They plotted to kill the dictator.
▪ attempt to, seek to, try to▪ help (to)▪ make sb▪The situation must have been really awful to make her kill herself.
PHRASES▪ admit killing sb, admit to killing sb, deny killing sb▪He admitted killing her but said it was unintentional.
▪ be accused of killing sb, be charged with killing sb▪ be killed in sth▪soldiers killed in battle
▪ be tragically killed▪Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident.
Kill is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑army, ↑avalanche, ↑blast, ↑bomb, ↑bullet, ↑crash, ↑disease, ↑earthquake, ↑explosion, ↑fanatic, ↑fumes, ↑killer, ↑lion, ↑military, ↑missile, ↑mob, ↑monster, ↑mould, ↑murderer, ↑shot, ↑troops, ↑violence, ↑virusKill is used with these nouns as the object: ↑animal, ↑bacteria, ↑bill, ↑cattle, ↑cell, ↑chance, ↑chicken, ↑civilian, ↑cow, ↑demonstrator, ↑elephant, ↑embryo, ↑enemy, ↑engine, ↑firefighter, ↑flea, ↑germ, ↑hope, ↑hostage, ↑infection, ↑insect, ↑lamb, ↑lover, ↑monster, ↑mood, ↑mosquito, ↑mouse, ↑murderer, ↑pain, ↑parasite, ↑pest, ↑pig, ↑prey, ↑speed, ↑time, ↑weed, ↑whale
Collocations dictionary. 2013.