# murder

Pronunciation: US say "MUR-dur" /ˈmɝ.dɚ/; UK say "MUR-duh" /ˈmɜːdə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. The crime of unlawfully and intentionally killing another person, especially with planning beforehand; an instance of this.
   - Simple: The crime of killing someone on purpose, often after planning it, or one case of such a killing.
   - _She was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison._
   - _In this state, murder can carry the death penalty._
3. Something extremely difficult, unpleasant, or painful to get through.
   - Simple: Something very hard or painful to deal with.
   - _Moving all that furniture up four flights of stairs was murder._
   - _Final exam week is absolute murder for most students._
6. A group of crows considered together; the traditional collective noun for the birds.
   - Simple: A group of crows gathered together.
   - _A murder of crows wheeled above the church steeple at twilight._
   - _The farmer scattered a murder of crows that had gathered on his fence._
8. In some legal systems, the crime of causing a death during certain serious felonies, for which participants may be held liable even if they did not kill or intend to kill.
   - Simple: In some legal systems, a killing during a serious crime that everyone involved can be blamed for, even if unintended.
   - _Because the burglary led to a guard's death, all three defendants faced murder charges._
   - _She was convicted of murder under the felony-murder rule even though her accomplice pulled the trigger._
9. One who unlawfully kills another person. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: A person who unlawfully kills another person.

## Verb

2. To kill a person unlawfully and intentionally, especially after planning it in advance.
   - Simple: To kill a person on purpose and against the law.
   - _The defendant was accused of conspiring to murder a rival gang leader._
   - _She murdered her husband for the insurance money, the jury concluded._
4. To defeat an opponent decisively, leaving the contest completely one-sided. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To beat someone very badly in a game or contest.
   - _If our defense plays like that again, the visitors will murder us in the second half._
   - _She murdered her opponent in straight sets to take the final._
5. To perform or render something so badly as to ruin it.
   - Simple: To do something so badly that you ruin it.
   - _The cover band murdered my favorite song._
   - _He tends to murder every foreign word he tries to pronounce._
7. To berate or thrash someone, used to express one's anger at them. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To get very angry at someone and tell them off, or beat them up.
   - _Mom will murder me when she sees this mess._
   - _The boss is going to murder the whole team if this project falls apart._
10. To devour or consume something eagerly and completely. *(colloquial, British)*
   - Simple: To eat or drink something quickly because you really want it.
   - _I could murder a curry after a shift like that._
   - _She was so thirsty she murdered the entire bottle of water._

## Noun

11. Something strikingly remarkable or impressive. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Something really amazing or impressive to see or hear.

## Origin

From Middle English murder, an alteration of earlier murthre, from Old English morþor ("secret slaying, unlawful killing"), from Proto-Germanic *murþrą ("death, killing"), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *mer- ("to die"). It is akin to Old High German mord and Old Norse morð. The -d- may have been influenced by Anglo-Norman murdre and Medieval Latin murdrum, though it may also have been a purely internal development.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/murder (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).