murder

play

noun mur·der \ ˈmər-dər \

Definition of murder

1 :the crime of unlawfully killing a person especially with malice aforethought

was convicted of murder

2 a :something very difficult or dangerous

the traffic was murder

carrying the luggage was murder on my back

b :something outrageous or blameworthy

getting away with murder

3 :a flock of crows

There's a reason the proper term for a flock of them is a murder of crows, and it's not because we like having them around.
—Jeffrey Kluger

See murder defined for English-language learners

See murder defined for kids

Examples of murder in a Sentence

She was accused of murder.
the mass murder of civilians in wartime
a string of unsolved murders
Traffic is murder this time of day.

Recent Examples of murder from the Web

During closing arguments in the murder trial against Rico Mosley, 20, prosecutors discussed the transfer of intent.

— sarah brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Jury deliberation begins in Kelsie Crow murder trial," 25 Aug. 2017
Ryden said prosecutors suspect the jury did not find the testimony of the state's key witness credible enough for a murder conviction.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Charges dropped in 2016 Aberdeen double homicide," 25 Aug. 2017
Paul David Carr, 61, was convicted in June of first-degree murder and a gun-use allegation in connection with the death of Craig Hodson, 55.

— dana littlefield, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Boulevard man gets 50 years to life for killing landlord, pastor," 22 Aug. 2017
The entire point of Arya’s arc last year—with the Braavosi theater company and her disinterest in cold-blooded murder—was that her empathetic spirit had not yet died out.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Is Game of Thrones on Thin Ice?," 21 Aug. 2017
The eight person cast navigates intrigue and suspicion while dropping hints to the audience to unravel a murder at an English countryside estate.

— philip potempa, Post-Tribune, "Dunes mystery 'Mousetrap' and Mercury's 'Hair' both timely tickets," 15 Aug. 2017
Anthony was Baez's fifth murder case, by his count, and many analysts were quick to note his apparent unfamiliarity with the rules of evidence.

— alex french, Esquire, "The Man Who Knows Aaron Hernandez's Secrets," 15 Aug. 2017
Black demonstrators protesting the murder of teen-agers are met with tanks and riot gear; white demonstrators protesting the unpopularity of Nazi and Confederate ideology are met with politesse.

— Longreads, "How We Got to Here: A Charlottesville Reading List," 15 Aug. 2017
James Alex Fields, Jr., a white nationalist protester, is suspected of driving the car that killed her and was arrested and charged with murder.

— suzannah weiss, Glamour, "Hate Site Criticizes Charlottesville Victim's Weight & Childlessness," 15 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'murder.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of murder

partly from Middle English murther, from Old English morthor; partly from Middle English murdre, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old English morthor; akin to Old High German mord murder, Latin mort-, mors death, mori to die, mortuus dead, Greek brotos mortal

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

murder Synonyms

Synonyms

agony, Gehenna, horror, misery, hell, nightmare, torment, torture

Antonyms

heaven, paradise

Related Words

affliction, calvary, cross, curse, ordeal, trial, tribulation; calamity, misfortune, tragedy; gall, thorn; bummer, downer, drag

Near Antonyms

delight, diversion, entertainment, fun, joy, pleasure, recreation; lark, picnic, riot

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

murder

verb

Definition of murder

murdered; murdering play \ˈmər-d(ə-)riŋ\

transitive verb

1 :to kill (a human being) unlawfully and with premeditated malice

2 :to slaughter wantonly :slay

3 a :to put an end to

b :tease, torment

c :mutilate, mangle

murders French

d :to defeat badly

intransitive verb

:to commit murder

See murder defined for English-language learners

Examples of murder in a Sentence

He was arrested and accused of murdering his wife.
His wife was found murdered.
a dictator who is responsible for murdering thousands of innocent people
The band murdered that song.

Recent Examples of murder from the Web

Brothers Avery and Aairden Hooper were murdered Friday evening.

— thomas novelly, The Courier-Journal, "'They were gentle hearts.' Two young boys killed by mother remembered by father, community," 29 Aug. 2017
After Ramsay made a show of murdering Rickon Stark, Jon lost his temper - even though Sansa had just warned him about Ramsay's treacherous mind games - and charged the Bolton army by himself.

— stephanie merry, chicagotribune.com, "All the times Jon Snow nearly died (and the one time he did), ranked," 22 Aug. 2017
Not the crackpot bit about General Pershing mass-murdering Muslim prisoners in the Philippines (well explained by David French, here).

— andrew c. mccarthy, National Review, "On Charlottesville, Trump, and Anti-Americanism," 19 Aug. 2017
A member of the right-wing fringe had just allegedly murdered a young woman named Heather Heyer.

— t.a. frank, The Hive, "Trump Is Ready to Go Down in Flames," 16 Aug. 2017
A clerk at the station was murdered there in July 2016.

— bob bong, Daily Southtown, "Durbins restaurant to call it quits in Summit," 15 Aug. 2017
In each of two big waves of bloodletting, in the early 1990s and again from 2007 to 2013, perhaps 10,000 people were murdered in the city.

— The Economist, "The pushmi-pullyuWhat makes Pakistan so unfathomable," 22 July 2017
According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, women in the United States are 11 times more likely to be murdered by a gun than in other high-income nations.

— maggie mallon, Glamour, "Half of the Women Murdered in the U.S. Are Killed by a Romantic Partner, According to Report," 21 July 2017
Sharon, an actress and fashion model married to director Roman Polanski, was brutally murdered alongside several of her friends by the Family in August 1969.

— ashley paige, Teen Vogue, "Jennifer Lawrence May Star in a Quentin Tarantino Film About the Manson Family Murders," 12 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of murder

see ¹murder

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

murder Synonyms

Synonyms

assassinate, bump off, croak [slang], dispatch, do in, execute, get, ice [slang], knock off, liquidate, neutralize, off [slang], put away, rub out, slay, snuff, take out, terminate, whack [slang], do away with

Near Antonyms

animate, raise, restore, resurrect, resuscitate, revive

Synonym Discussion of murder

kill, slay, murder, assassinate, dispatch, execute mean to deprive of life. kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

- killed in an accident
- frost killed the plants

slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

- slew thousands of the Philistines

murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

- convicted of murdering a rival

assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

- terrorists assassinated the Senator

dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

- dispatched the sentry with one bullet

execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

- executed by lethal gas

MURDER Defined for English Language Learners

murder

play

noun

Definition of murder for English Language Learners

: the crime of deliberately killing a person
: something that is very difficult or unpleasant

murder

verb

Definition of murder for English Language Learners

: to kill (a person) in a deliberate and unlawful way : to commit the murder of (someone)
: to spoil or ruin (something) : to perform (something) very badly
: to defeat (an opponent) very badly

MURDER Defined for Kids

murder

play

noun mur·der \ ˈmər-dər \

Definition of murder for Students

:the intentional and unlawful killing of a human being

murder

verb

Definition of murder for Students

murdered; murdering

1 :to kill (someone) intentionally and unlawfully

2 :to spoil or ruin by performing or using badly

murder a song

—

murderer

noun

Law Dictionary

murder

play

noun mur·der \ ˈmər-dər \

legal Definition of murder

:the crime of unlawfully and unjustifiably killing another under circumstances defined by statute (as with premeditation); especially :such a crime committed purposely, knowingly, and recklessly with extreme indifference to human life or during the course of a serious felony (as robbery or rape) — compare cold blood, cooling time, homicide, manslaughter

Note: Self-defense, necessity, and lack of capacity for criminal responsibility (as because of insanity) are defenses to a charge of murder. Most state statutes and the U.S. Code divide murder into two degrees. Florida, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania currently have three degrees of murder. Some states do not assign degrees of murder.

— depraved-heart murder \di-ˈprāvd-ˈhärt-\

:a murder that is the result of an act which is dangerous to others and shows that the perpetrator has a depraved mind and no regard for human life

Note: Depraved-heart murder is usually considered second- or third-degree murder.

— felony murder

:a murder that occurs in the commission of a serious felony (as burglary or sexual battery) — compare misdemeanor-manslaughter at manslaughter

Note: Felony murder is usually considered first-degree murder. Felony murder does not require specific intent to kill, and an accessory to the felony may also be charged with the murder.

— first-degree murder

:a murder that is committed with premeditation or during the course of a serious felony (as kidnapping) or that otherwise (as because of extreme cruelty) requires the most serious punishment under the law

— second-degree murder

:a murder that is committed without premeditation but with some intent (as general or transferred intent) or other circumstances not covered by the first-degree murder statute

— third-degree murder

:a murder that is not first- or second-degree murder: as

a :a murder committed in the perpetration of a felony not listed in the first-degree murder statute

b :depraved-heart murder in this entry