death blow

noun

variants or deathblow

ˈdeth-ˌblō 

1

: a forcible stroke that kills a living thing : an act that ends the life of a person or animal

A gaping wound in the back of his head suggests the death blow was delivered by a halberd, a bladed pole weapon favored in the 15th century.

—Rachel Ehrenberg

… the tooth helps to dislocate the prey's neck vertebrae, the death blow most often dealt to small mammals and birds.

—Sarah A. Sloane

2

: an act or event that causes the end or failure of something

It shows how investors with risky business plans, unrealistic financial assumptions, and competing agendas can deliver a death blow to companies that otherwise could have survived.

—Emily Thornton

Nevis's fortunes declined after 1822, when the European sugar beet dealt a deathblow to the distant, inefficient cane mills of the Indies.

—Peter Theroux

Examples of death blow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The all-encompassing figure for loss reflects the reality faced by those like Christine D., for whom the destruction of her home was a financial death blow to a way of life. —Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 21 Feb. 2025

Resorting to unilateral military strikes against the cartels would constitute a death blow to cooperative law enforcement efforts between the United States and Mexico. —Vanda Felbab-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 17 Feb. 2025

And that, unfortunately, could lead to higher prices, layoffs, and ultimately be a death blow for some small distilleries. —Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 14 Feb. 2025

But where to start in dealing twin death blows to Christianity? —Dan Miller, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025

Leading 20-10, a run of five consecutive baskets on five possessions delivered a death blow to Sage Hill’s hopes. —Martin Henderson, Orange County Register, 25 Jan. 2025

And even more importantly, the return of Trump could send Russia’s economy off the cliff, and Trump’s return could deal the death blow to the teetering Putin regime. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian, TIME, 21 Jan. 2025

That, from now on, the spectacular imbalance of cinema’s means deals a death blow to the product that comes out of it. —Marguerite Duras, Harper's Magazine, 2 Mar. 2024

Cinema stops the written in its tracks and deals a death blow to its descendent: the imaginary. —Marguerite Duras, Harper's Magazine, 2 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1586, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for death blow

• acknow
• aglow
• ago
• airglow
• aloe
• altho
• although
• ammo
• backflow
• backhoe
• banjo
• barbeau

Kids Definition

deathblow

noun

death·​blow -ˌblō 

: a destructive or killing stroke or event