To kill time

To kill time
Kill Kill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Killed} (k[i^]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Killing}.] [OE. killen, kellen, cullen, to kill, strike; perh. the same word as cwellen, quellen, to kill (cf. {Quell}), or perh. rather akin to Icel. kolla to hit in the head, harm, kollr top, summit, head, Sw. kulle, D. kollen to kill with the ax.] 1. To deprive of life, animal or vegetable, in any manner or by any means; to render inanimate; to put to death; to slay. [1913 Webster]

Ah, kill me with thy weapon, not with words ! --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. To destroy; to ruin; as, to kill one's chances; to kill the sale of a book. ``To kill thine honor.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Her lively color kill'd with deadly cares. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

3. To cause to cease; to quell; to calm; to still; as, in seamen's language, a shower of rain kills the wind; new sound insultation killed the loud noises from outside. [1913 Webster +PJC]

Be comforted, good madam; the great rage, You see, is killed in him. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

4. To destroy the effect of; to counteract; to neutralize; as, alkali kills acid. [1913 Webster]

5. To waste or spend unprofitably; -- usually used of time; as, he killed an hour waiting for the doctor to see him. [PJC]

6. To cancel or forbid publication of (a report, article, etc.), after it has been written; as, they killed the article after getting threats of a lawsuit. [PJC]

{To kill time}, to busy one's self with something which occupies the attention, or makes the time pass without tediousness.

Syn: To murder; assassinate; slay; butcher; destroy. -- To {Kill}, {Murder}, {Assassinate}. To kill does not necessarily mean any more than to deprive of life. A man may kill another by accident or in self-defense, without the imputation of guilt. To murder is to kill with malicious forethought and intention. To assassinate is to murder suddenly and by stealth. The sheriff may kill without murdering; the duelist murders, but does not assassinate his antagonist; the assassin kills and murders.


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • kill time — To occupy oneself with amusements, etc, in order to pass spare time or to relieve boredom (also killˈ time noun an occupation of this sort) • • • Main Entry: ↑kill * * * kill time phrase to make time seem to pass more quickly by doing something… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Kill Time Communication — Год основания 1995 Расположение Токио, Япония Ключевые фигуры …   Википедия

  • kill time — {v. phr.} To cause the time to pass more rapidly; waste time. * /The plane trip to Hong Kong was long and tiring, but we managed to kill time by watching several movies./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • kill time — {v. phr.} To cause the time to pass more rapidly; waste time. * /The plane trip to Hong Kong was long and tiring, but we managed to kill time by watching several movies./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • kill time — index procrastinate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • kill time — verb To spend time doing nothing in particular in order that it seems to pass more quickly. She had nothing better to do, so she went to the bowling alley to kill time. See Also: time killer, time to kill …   Wiktionary

  • kill\ time — v. phr. To cause the time to pass more rapidly; waste time. The plane trip to Hong Kong was long and tiring, but we managed to kill time by watching several movies …   Словарь американских идиом

  • kill time — to do something which is not very useful or interesting while you are waiting for time to pass. We usually play guessing games to kill time at airports …   New idioms dictionary

  • kill time — to make time seem to pass more quickly by doing something instead of just waiting I started cleaning the windows, just to kill time …   English dictionary

  • kill-time — ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun : an occupation that serves to kill time …   Useful english dictionary

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