murder

noun

(uncountable) The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination.

(countable) The act of killing a person (or sometimes another being) unlawfully, especially with predetermination

(uncountable, law, in jurisdictions which use the felony murder rule) The act of committing or abetting a crime that results in the killing of a person, regardless of intent, and even if the committer or abettor is not the one who killed the person: felony murder.

(countable, collective) A group of crows; the collective noun for crows.

(uncountable, used as a predicative noun) Something terrible to endure.

A surname.

(dated slang) Something remarkable or impressive.

(nonstandard) a murderer

verb

To illegally kill (a person or persons) with intent, especially with predetermination

(figuratively, colloquial, hyperbolic) To kick someone's ass or chew someone out (used to express one’s anger at somebody).

(transitive, sports, figuratively, colloquial, hyperbolic) To defeat decisively.

(figuratively, colloquial, British) To devour, ravish.

To botch or mangle.

Roots

morthmurder- · Old English · death, killing

Synonyms for murder

slayingn homiciden uxoriciden killingn assassinationn manslaughtern assassinatev thuggeen matriciden parriciden patriciden massacren infanticiden regiciden sororicide slaughtern mutilatev

Synonyms & related words for murder

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of murder — including slaying, homicide, uxoricide, killing, assassination, manslaughter. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to murder

Explore words related to murder — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include murther, murderers, parricidal, tyrannicidal, murderess, manslayer, noyade, killer. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for murder

Common synonyms for murder include slaying, homicide, uxoricide, killing, assassination, manslaughter, assassinate, thuggee — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does murder come from?

The word murder breaks down into one root of Old English origin: the root murder-, from Old English morth (“death, killing”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.