murderer
MUR-duh-ruh
Murderer (noun) means a person who has committed murder. Example: “The murderer was caught after fleeing to another city.”
noun
1
A person who has committed murder.
"I had never defrauded a man of a farthing, nor called him knave behind his back. But now the last rag that covered my nakedness had been torn from me. I was branded a blackleg, card-sharper, and murderer."
— William Blair Morton Ferguson (1908)
"The murderer was caught after fleeing to another city."
"Detectives spent years trying to track down the murderer."
"“Every murderer is probably somebody’s old friend,” observed Poirot philosophically. “You cannot mix up sentiment and reason.”"
— Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
"The murderer in the novel is not revealed until the final page."
How to use murderer
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomeone guilty of killing another person on purpose.
Common pairings
convicted murderer
serial murderer
suspected murderer
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Word forms
- Plural
- murderers
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The _____ was caught after fleeing to another city.
Etymology
From Middle English murderere, formed from murder plus the agent suffix -er.
Synonyms
View more →Related words
Rhymes for murderer
See all rhymes for murderer →Frequently asked questions
What does “murderer” mean?
The word “murderer” means a person who has committed murder. In plain terms, someone guilty of killing another person on purpose.
How do you pronounce “murderer”?
“Murderer” is pronounced MUR-duh-ruh (/ˈmɝdɚɚ/ in IPA).
How do you use “murderer” in a sentence?
Here is “murderer” used in a sentence: “The murderer was caught after fleeing to another city.”
What part of speech is “murderer”?
“Murderer” is a noun.
Where does the word “murderer” come from?
The word “murderer” comes from Middle English. From Middle English murderere, formed from murder plus the agent suffix -er.
Is “murderer” a common word?
“Murderer” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.
What is the difference between a murderer and a killer?
A murderer specifically refers to a person who has committed murder, an unlawful and intentional killing, while killer is a broader term that can include unlawful killings as well as accidental or non-criminal deaths. Every murderer is a killer, but not every killer is legally a murderer.
Is murderer used in formal legal contexts?
Yes, murderer is used in both everyday and legal contexts to describe someone who has committed the crime of murder, though formal legal documents may also use terms like "defendant" or "the accused" before conviction.
