kill

Name: kill, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/kɪl/

//kɪl// verb

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“kill” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #852 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#852
frequency rank, English: 4
letters: 4
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To put to death; to extinguish the life of.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

kill vs KL

0% similar

kill vs Kim

25% similar

kill vs kit

50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for kill
Property	Value
Headword	kill
Language	English
Part of speech	Verb
IPA	/kɪl/
Letters	4
Frequency rank	#852
Misspellings tracked	4
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “kill” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). kill lands here:

#852

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for kill is 4 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #852 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 18 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for kill, with forms such as "ikll", "kil", and "kkill". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "KL", "Kim", "kit", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English killen, kyllen, cüllen (“to strike, beat, cut”), of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots kele, keil (“to kill”). * Perhaps from unattested Old English *cyllan, from Proto-West Germanic *kwulljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwuljaną, from Proto-I… The correct English form is kill, spelled K-I-L-L.

Definition

1
To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
2
To render inoperative.
3
To stop, cease, or render void; to terminate.
4
To amaze, exceed, stun, or otherwise incapacitate.
5
To cause great pain, discomfort, or distress to; to hurt.
6
To produce feelings of dissatisfaction or revulsion in.
7
To use up or to waste.
8
To overpower, overwhelm, or defeat.
9
To force a company out of business.
10
To punish severely.
11
To strike (a ball, etc.) with such force and placement as to make a shot that is impossible to defend against, usually winning a point.
12
To cause (a ball, etc.) to be out of play, resulting in a stoppage of gameplay.
13
To succeed with an audience, especially in comedy.
14
To cause to assume the value zero.
15
To disconnect (a user) involuntarily from the network.
16
To deadmelt.
17
To sexually penetrate in a skillful way.
18
To exert oneself to an excessive degree.

Etymology

From Middle English killen, kyllen, cüllen (“to strike, beat, cut”), of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots kele, keil (“to kill”). * Perhaps from unattested Old English *cyllan, from Proto-West Germanic *kwulljan, from Proto-Germanic *kwuljaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to throw, hit, hurt by throwing”). * Or, possibly a variant of Old English cwellan (“to kill, murder, execute”) (see quell). * Or, from Old Norse kolla (“to hit on the head, harm”), related to Norwegian kylla (“to poll”), Middle Dutch kollen (“to knock down”), Icelandic kollur (“top, head”); see also coll, cole). Compare also Saterland Frisian källe (“to hurt”), Middle Dutch kellen (“to kill, hurt”), Middle Low German kellen, killen (“to ache strongly, cause one great pain”) (whence German Low German kellen, killen (“to hurt, injure, torment, vex”)), Middle High German kellen (“to torment; torture”).

Synonyms

assassinate bump off dispatch drill ice knock off liquidate murder murk rub out slaughter slay smoke top whack claim fritter away while away break deactivate disable turn off annihilatebust one's assbag baptizebereave of lifeblight bring down bury cackcompromised to a permanent endcroak crush dash dead demolish destroy dispose of do do in dust eliminate end eradicate ex exterminate finish finish off flatten greaselay waste tomake away with merc mortify neutralize obliterate off pay off pick off polish off pop off punch someone's ticket put an end to put down put someone out of their miseryput six feet underput to sleep ravage ruin scotch scupper scuttlesend to eternitysend to hellsend to the gravesend to the great beyondsend to the next lifeslime outsmash smite snuff squash stiff stop someone's clock take terminate terminate with extreme prejudice top off torpedo take care of take down take out waste wax wet wipe out wreck

Antonyms

save rescue resurrect revive raise reanimate reawaken requicken revivifyraise from the deadvitalise vivificate vivify give birth birth germinate spawn whelp

This word in other languages

matar(Español)tuer(Français)töten(Deutsch)matar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ikll,kil,kkill,klil

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of kill - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "kill"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "kill"?

"kill" is spelled K-I-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /kɪl/.

What does "kill" mean?

As a verb, "kill" means: To put to death; to extinguish the life of.

What words are commonly confused with "kill"?

"kill" is commonly confused with "KL", "Kim", "kit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "kill"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kill" is /kɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "kill"?

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “kill”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is K-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /kɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “KL” - see the side-by-side comparison. kill vs KL
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.