KILLING

killing, sidesplitting

(adjective) very funny; “a killing joke”; “sidesplitting antics”

killing, kill, putting to death

(noun) the act of terminating a life

killing, violent death

(noun) an event that causes someone to die

killing, cleanup

(noun) a very large profit

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

killing

present participle of kill

Adjective

killing (comparative more killing, superlative most killing)

That literally deprives of life; lethal, deadly, fatal.

Devastatingly attractive.

That makes one ‘die’ with laughter; very funny.

Noun

killing (countable and uncountable, plural killings)

An instance of someone being killed.

(informal, usually, as make a killing) A large amount of money.

Source: Wiktionary

Kill"ing, a.

Definition: Literally, that kills; having power to kill; fatal; in a colloquial sense, conquering; captivating; irresistible.

– Kill"ing*ly, adv. Those eyes are made so killing. Pope. Nothing could be more killingly spoken. Milton.

KILL

Kill, n.

Definition: A kiln. [Obs.] Fuller.

Kill, n. Etym: [D. kil.]

Definition: 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.

Kill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Killed; p. pr. & vb. n. Killing.] Etym: [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.

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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition