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# killer

«killer» in Mova's school dictionary: **A person, animal or thing that kills** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 3 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a killer, killers); adjective (informal: killer)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A person, animal or thing that kills. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#m1)

2) Something that is the cause of many deaths, as in «Heart disease is a big killer». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#m2)

3) (slang) Something very good, impressive or very hard, as in «a killer goal» or «That test was a killer». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In news and stories: a killer is caught by police. In science and health: killer whales (orcas), killer diseases. In slang: «killer trainers» = great trainers; «My legs are a killer» = they really hurt. Phrases: killer whale, painkiller, killer instinct.

### examples

- Killer whales hunt seals. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#x1)
- Smoking is a killer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#x2)
- The police arrested the killer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#x3)
- That was a killer goal! (slang) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#x4)
- Take a painkiller for your headache. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#x5)
- The last hill was a killer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#x6)
- Weedkiller kills unwanted plants. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#x7)
- “Do you think a snake-killer kills muskrats?” said Rikki-tikki scornfully. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/#x8)

### note

Countable. Verb: kill. Compounds: painkiller, weedkiller, killjoy (someone who spoils fun). Slang «killer» for «great» is informal; avoid it in formal writing.

### In the corpora

- [Weed killer and slug pellets are poisons, so never touch, open or taste garden chemicals.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/229-gardens-and-forests/11/)
- [Liquids in the wrong bottle look like drinks, and some, like cleaners or weed killer, can burn the mouth and throat.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/295-scissors-toddlers-medicines-fire-and-damp/25/)
- [Many scary internet stories, such as «killer clown» rumours, are made up to frighten people.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/religion-ethics/71-scary-films-games-hospitals-and-what-helps/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «killer» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/killer/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.