murder

Universal Words noun, verb noun 1 [U,C] the crime of killing sb deliberately SYNHOMICIDE: He was found guilty of murder. * She has been charged with the attempted murder of her husband. * to commit (a) murder * a murder case / investigation / trial * The rebels were responsible for the mass murder of 400 civilians. * What was the murder weapon? * The play is a murder mystery. compareMANSLAUGHTER 2 [U] (spoken) used to describe sth that is difficult or unpleasant: It's murder trying to get to the airport at this time of day. * It was murder (= very busy and unpleasant) in the office today. IDIOMS get away with murder (informal, often humorous) to do whatever you want without being stopped or punished moreatSCREAMv. verb [VN] 1 to kill sb deliberately and illegally: He denies murdering his wife's lover. * The murdered woman was well known in the area. 2 to spoil sth because you do not do it very well: Critics accused him of murdering the English language (= writing or speaking it very badly). 3 (BrE, informal) to defeat sb completely, especially in a team sport SYNTHRASH IDIOMS I could murder a... (spoken) used to say that you very much want to eat or drink sth: I could murder a beer. sb will murder you (spoken) used to warn sb that another person will be very angry with them