What does "murder" mean?
The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination.
Murder
/ˈmɜːdə(ɹ)/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination.
- Grammar: murder is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: homicide, slaying, abate, abolish.
- Useful contrasts: document honestly, improve, misadventure.
- Usage evidence: You've got no alibi for the day of the murder.
How to use "murder"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "murder" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "murder" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "murder" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "murder" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "murder" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "homicide" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "murder", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination. uncountable
"The defendant was charged with murder."
- 2 unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being wordnet
- 3 The crime of killing a person unlawfully, especially with predetermination.; 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. uncountable
- 4 The act of killing a person (or sometimes another being) unlawfully, especially with predetermination countable
"There have been ten unsolved murders this year alone."
- 5 Something terrible to endure. uncountable
"This headache is murder."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A group of crows; the collective noun for crows. collective, countable
"For his part, Melchior was growing unhappy with the murder of crows. They had been patiently following Arthur for hours, trailing him from town to country."
- 7 Something remarkable or impressive. countable, dated, slang, uncountable
"Right quick another cat spoke up real loud, saying, “That’s murder man, really murder,” and his eyes were signifying too."
- 8 a murderer countable, nonstandard, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To illegally kill (a person or persons) with intent, especially with predetermination
"The woman found dead in her kitchen was murdered by her husband."
- 2 alter so as to make unrecognizable wordnet
- 3 To defeat decisively. colloquial, excessive, figuratively, transitive
"Our team is going to murder them."
- 4 kill intentionally and with premeditation wordnet
- 5 To kick someone's ass or chew someone out (used to express one’s anger at somebody). colloquial, excessive, figuratively
"He's torn my best shirt. When I see him, I'll murder him!"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To botch or mangle.
"Dr. Caius, the Frenchman in the play, and Evans the Welshman, "Gallia et Guallia," succeed pretty well in their efforts to murder the language."
- 7 To devour, ravish. British, colloquial, figuratively
"I could murder a hamburger right now."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"You've got no alibi for the day of the murder."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "murder"?
Common synonyms include: homicide, slaying, abate, abolish, annihilate, asphyxiate.
How do you use "murder" in a sentence?
You've got no alibi for the day of the murder.
How do you pronounce "murder"?
Pronounced /ˈmɜːdə(ɹ)/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English murder, murdre, mourdre, alteration of earlier murthre (“murder”) (see murther), from Old English morþor (“secret slaying, unlawful killing”) and Old English myrþra (“murder, homicide”), both from Proto-West Germanic *morþr, from Proto-Germanic *murþrą (“death, killing, murder”), from Proto-Indo-European *mr̥tro- (“killing”), from Proto-Indo-European *mer-, *mor-, *mr̥- (“to die”). Akin to Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌸𐍂 (maurþr, “murder”), Old High German mord (“murder”), Old Norse morð (“murder”), Old English myrþrian (“to murder”) and morþ. The -d- in the Middle English form may have been influenced in part by Anglo-Norman murdre, from Old French murdre, from Medieval Latin murdrum (whence the English doublet of murdrum), from Frankish *morþr, *murþr (“murder”), from the same Germanic root, though this may also have been wholly the result of internal development (compare burden, from burthen). (crows): Attested at least since 1475.
Etymology 2
English surname from the verb murder, originally given to someone who had a reputation of being a murderer or was accused of committing murder.