- an act of killing somebody deliberately synonym murder
- Their leader condemned the torture and killing of innocent civilians.
- The mass killing (= killing of a large number of people) occurred when soldiers opened fire on protesters.
- He is responsible for the brutal killing of thousands of animals.
- No motive for the killing has yet been established.
Collocations CrimeCrimeCommitting a crimesee also giant-killing, honour killing, mercy killing, unlawful killing- commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud
- be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/human trafficking
- engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism
- steal somebody’s wallet/purse/(British English) mobile phone/(North American English) cell phone
- rob a bank/a person/a tourist
- break into/ (British English) burgle/ (North American English) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment
- hijack a plane/ship/bus
- smuggle drugs/weapons/arms
- traffic people/wildlife/narcotics/cocaine
- launder drug money (through something)
- forge documents/certificates/passports
- take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe
- run a phishing/an email/an internet scam
- combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking
- prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy
- deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals
- reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour
- foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot
- help/support/protect the victims of crime
- report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police
- witness the crime/attack/murder/incident
- investigate a murder/(especially North American English) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident
- conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially British English) a police/murder inquiry
- investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case
- examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime
- collect/gather forensic evidence
- uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons
- describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker
- question/interrogate a suspect/witness
- solve/crack the case
Extra ExamplesTopics Crime and punishmentb1- It is difficult to prevent such killings.
- The Mafia ordered the killing.
- This was the fourth mass killing in Australia in four years.
- the cold-blooded killing of a defenceless woman
- Police fear the shooting may spark a wave of revenge killings among rival gangs.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- brutal
- cold-blooded
- deliberate
- …
- be responsible for
- carry out
- order
- …
- happen
- occur
- take place
- …
- a motive for the killing
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Idioms
See killing in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee killing in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishmake a killing
- (informal) to make a lot of money quickly
- She made a killing on the stock market.
- Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.
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killing