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KILLER
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Predatory black-and-white toothed whale with large dorsal fin; common in cold seas
Synonyms:
grampus; killer; killer whale; orca; Orcinus orca; sea wolf
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("killer" is a kind of...):
dolphin (any of various small toothed whales with a beaklike snout; larger than porpoises)
Holonyms ("killer" is a member of...):
genus Orcinus; Orcinus (killer whales)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A difficulty that is hard to deal with
Example:
that exam was a real killer
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("killer" is a kind of...):
difficulty (a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result)
Derivation:
kill (be the source of great pain for)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Someone who causes the death of a person or animal
Synonyms:
killer; slayer
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("killer" is a kind of...):
individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "killer"):
executioner; public executioner (an official who inflicts capital punishment in pursuit of a warrant)
eradicator; exterminator; terminator (someone who exterminates (especially someone whose occupation is the extermination of troublesome rodents and insects))
choker; garroter; garrotter; strangler; throttler (someone who kills by strangling)
liquidator; manslayer; murderer (a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being))
poisoner (someone who kills with poison)
regicide (someone who commits regicide; the killer of a king)
felo-de-se; suicide (a person who kills himself intentionally)
Derivation:
kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)
Sense 4
Meaning:
The causal agent resulting in death
Example:
heart disease is the biggest killer in the United States
Synonyms:
cause of death; killer
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("killer" is a kind of...):
causal agency; causal agent; cause (any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results)
Derivation:
kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)
kill (cause the death of, without intention)
Context examples:
A human monoclonal antibody directed against the human inhibitory killer IgG-like receptor (KIR) with potential immunostimulating and antineoplastic activities.
(Anti-KIR Monoclonal Antibody IPH 2101, NCI Thesaurus)
The antigen LEU 2A, also known as CD8, is present on a subset of natural killer (NK) lymphocytes as well as the on the human suppressor/cytotoxic T-lymphocyte subset.
(Monoclonal Antibody hLEU 2A, NCI Thesaurus)
This allele, which encodes natural cytotoxicity triggering receptor 2 protein plays a role in natural killer cell function.
(NCR2 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
This gene is involved in natural killer cell function.
(NCR2 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)
Natural killer cells ZRx101 are derived from NK-92 cells, having been modified to target tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) upregulated in certain types of cancer.
(Natural Killer Cells ZRx101, NCI Thesaurus)
This gene plays a role in natural killer cell function.
(NCR3 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)
Extreme heat exposure is the biggest killer of all climate phenomena in the United States, killing 7,000 people between 1999 and 2010.
(Hot Dorm Rooms Could Affect Students' Memory, Sadie Witkowski/VOA)
Cytolytic lymphocytes with the unique capacity of killing natural killer (NK)-resistant fresh tumor cells.
(Murine Lymphokine Activated Killer Cells, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
The lineage of the natural killer (NK) cell is currently not well understood.
(Activated Natural Killer Cell, NCI Thesaurus)
Natural killer cells antigen CD94 (179 aa, 20 kD) is a cell communication protein that is encoded by the human KLRD1 gene and has a role in cell surface receptor-linked signal transduction.
(Natural Killer Cells Antigen CD94, NCI Thesaurus)
