kill off

verb

killed off; killing off; kills off

transitive verb

: to destroy in large numbers or totally

Examples of kill off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sheridan summarily killed off Dutton in the opening moments of the back half of Season 5, which premiered Nov. 10 with an inglorious, bloody bathroom gunshot death made to look like a suicide. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 25 Nov. 2024 And when you’re done with the dishes, put the sponge in the dishwasher, where the heat will kill off potential pathogens. Alyssa Shaffer, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Nov. 2024 Or that Patrick Dempsey, who was killed off on Grey’s Anatomy eight years earlier, then drove a car in Ferrari, won in 2023? Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 15 Nov. 2024 Yet, without more efficient commercial aircraft, SAF will increase fuel costs, shrink the market, undermine public support for decarbonization and kill off the investments that will make SAF available. Dean Donovan, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for kill off 

Word History

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kill off was in 1607

Dictionary Entries Near kill off

Cite this Entry

“Kill off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kill%20off. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

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