Verb

(en verb)

To put to death; to extinguish the life of.

Smoking kills more people each year than alcohol and drugs combined.

There is conclusive evidence that smoking kills .

(fiction) To invent a story that conveys the death of (a character).

Shakespeare killed Romeo and Juliet for drama.

To render inoperative.

He killed the engine and turned off the headlights, but remained in the car, waiting.

(1978):

:: Peter : Ask Childers if it was worth his arm.

:: Policeman : What did you do to his arm, Peter?

:: Peter''': I '''killed it, with a machine gun.

(figuratively) To stop, cease or render void; to terminate.

The editor decided to kill the story.

The news that a hurricane had destroyed our beach house killed our plans to sell it.

My computer wouldn't respond until I killed some of the running processes.

(transitive, figuratively, hyperbole) To amaze, exceed, stun or otherwise incapacitate.

That night, she was dressed to kill .

That joke always kills me.

(figuratively) To produce feelings of dissatisfaction or revulsion in.

It kills me to throw out three whole turkeys, but I can't get anyone to take them and they've already started to go bad.

It kills me to learn how many poor people are practically starving in this country while rich moguls spend such outrageous amounts on useless luxuries.

To use up or to waste.

I'm just doing this to kill time.

He told the bartender, pointing at the bottle of scotch he planned to consume, "Leave it, I'm going to kill the bottle."

(transitive, figuratively, informal) To exert an overwhelming effect on.

Between the two of us, we killed the rest of the case of beer.

Look at the amount of destruction to the enemy base. We pretty much killed their ability to retaliate anymore.

(transitive, figuratively, hyperbole) To overpower, overwhelm or defeat.

The team had absolutely killed their traditional rivals, and the local sports bars were raucous with celebrations.

To force a company out of business.

(informal) To produce intense pain.

You don't ever want to get rabies. The doctor will have to give you multiple shots and they really kill .

(figuratively, informal, hyperbole) To punish severely.

My parents are going to kill me!

(sports) To strike a ball or similar object with such force and placement as to make a shot that is impossible to defend against, usually winning a point.

* {{quote-news

, year=2011 , date=February 4 , author=Gareth Roberts , title=Wales 19-26 England , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=That close call encouraged Wales to launch another series of attacks that ended when lock Louis Deacon killed the ball illegally in the shadow of England's posts.}}

(mathematics, transitive, idiomatic, informal) To cause to assume the value zero.

(computing, Internet, IRC) To disconnect (a user) forcibly from the network.

Verb

To provide assistance to (someone or something).

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Snakes and ladders , passage=Risk is everywhere.

To contribute in some way to.

To provide assistance.

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=19 citation , passage=As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help , and he stripped off his tunic at once.}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= A punch in the gut , passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}

To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can .