Her lively color kill'd with deadly cares.
Shak.
3. To cause to cease; to quell; to calm; to still; as, in seamen's language, a shower of rain kills the wind.
Be comforted, good madam; the great rage, You see, is killed in him.
Shak.
4. To destroy the effect of; to counteract; to neutralize; as, alkali kills acid.
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.
{ Kill"dee` (?), Kill"deer` (?), } n. [So named from its notes.] (Zoöl.) A small American plover (Ægialitis vocifera).
It is dark grayish brown above; the rump and upper tail coverts are yellowish rufous; the belly, throat, and a line over the eyes, white; a ring round the neck and band across the breast, black.
Kill"er (?), n. 1. One who deprives of life; one who, or that which, kills.
2. (Zoöl.) A voracious, toothed whale of the genus Orca, of which several species are known.
The killers have a high dorsal fin, and powerful jaws armed with large, sharp teeth. They capture, and swallow entire, large numbers of seals, porpoises, and dolphins, and are celebrated for their savage, combined attacks upon the right whales, which they are said to mutilate and kill. The common Atlantic species (Orca gladiator), is found both on the European and the American coast. Two species (Orca ater and O. rectipinna) occur on the Pacific coast.
Kil*lesse" (?), n. [Cf. Coulisse.] (Arch.) (a) A gutter, groove, or channel. (b) A hipped roof. [Prov. Eng.] Parker.
Kil"li*fish` (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several small American cyprinodont fishes of the genus Fundulus and allied genera. They live equally well in fresh and brackish water, or even in the sea. They are usually striped or barred with black. Called also minnow, and brook fish. See Minnow.
Kil"li*grew (?), n. (Zoöl.) The Cornish chough. See under Chough. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Kil`li*ki*nick" (?), n. See Kinnikinic.
Kill"ing (?), a. Literally, that kills; having power to kill; fatal; in a colloquial sense, conquering; captivating; irresistible. -- Kill"ing*ly, adv.
Those eyes are made so killing.
Pope.
Nothing could be more killingly spoken.
Milton.
Kill"-joy` (?), n. One who causes gloom or grief; a dispiriting person. W. Black.
Kil"lock (?), n. [Cf. Scot. killick "the flue [fluke] of an anchor." Jamieson.] A small anchor; also, a kind of anchor formed by a stone inclosed by pieces of wood fastened together. [Written also killick.]
Kil"low (?), n. [Prov. E. kollow the smut or grime on the backs of chimneys.] An earth of a blackish or deep blue color. Woodward.
Kiln (kl), n. [OE. kilne, kulne, AS. cyln, cylen; akin to Icel. kylna; prob. from the same source as coal. See Coal.] 1. A large stove or oven; a furnace of brick or stone, or a heated chamber, for the purpose of hardening, burning, or drying anything; as, a kiln for baking or hardening earthen vessels; a kiln for drying grain, meal, lumber, etc.; a kiln for calcining limestone.
2. A furnace for burning bricks; a brickkiln.
Kiln"-dry` (?), v. t. To dry in a kiln; as, to kiln-dry meal or grain. Mortimer.
The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section I, J, K, and L · The Wunder Library — complete classics, free to read, with narration.