kill

The word “kill” means to cause the death of a person, animal, or living thing. In plain terms, to end a life, or more loosely, to stop or switch something off; also used hyperbolically for severe pain or difficulty.

“Kill” is pronounced KIHL (/ˈkɪl/ in IPA).

Here is “kill” used in a sentence: “The frost killed most of the young plants overnight.”

Words with a similar meaning to “kill” include bag, baptize, bereave of life, blight, bring down and bury.

The opposite of “kill” — its antonyms — are save, rescue, resurrect, revive and raise.

Depending on how it is used, “kill” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “kill” comes from Old English. From Middle English "killen," of uncertain deeper origin, possibly related to Old English "cwellan" (to kill, the source of "quell") or an Old Norse word meaning "to strike.".

“Kill” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

Kill is the broad term for causing any death, whether by accident, in war, in self-defense or in nature. Murder is far narrower: the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another. Every murder is a kill, but most killing is not murder in the legal sense of the word.

Not always. Beyond its literal meaning, kill is used figuratively in everyday speech: to kill time, kill an engine, kill the lights, or kill a plan. In these senses it means to stop, switch off or use up something, rather than to actually end a life.

There is no single exact opposite, but words like revive, save, spare and resuscitate stand against it, describing the act of preserving or restoring life. To give life or bring something back is the natural counterpoint to taking it away. Context decides which opposite fits best in a given sentence.