Sometimes, people don’t want to say something directly. They use different words that still give the same meaning. These are called metaphors. A metaphor compares two things by saying one thing is something else. It doesn’t mean it’s true in a real way, but it helps us picture an idea better.
This article will show you how people use metaphors when talking about killing. These phrases are often used in books, movies, or stories. They don’t say “kill” in a strong or scary way. Instead, they use other words to say the same thing in a softer or more creative way. You’ll also get to see what these metaphors mean and how they are used in simple sentences.
Metaphors for Killing
1. Pull the plug
Meaning: To end something suddenly
Sample Sentences: They pulled the plug on the old TV show. / The boss pulled the plug on the project.
Other Way to Say: Shut it down / Ended it
2. Take out
Meaning: To remove or kill someone
Sample Sentences: The hero took out the villain in the final scene. / The team took out the last player.
Other Way to Say: Got rid of / Knocked out
3. Snuff out
Meaning: To end life or hope suddenly
Sample Sentences: The candle was snuffed out by the wind. / The story showed how hope was snuffed out.
Other Way to Say: Ended / Silenced
4. Put to sleep
Meaning: A soft way to say something was killed
Sample Sentences: The dog was sick, so they put it to sleep. / The vet said it was time to put him to sleep.
Other Way to Say: Let go / Rest forever
5. Wipe out
Meaning: To destroy completely
Sample Sentences: The storm wiped out the crops. / The hero wiped out the enemy base.
Other Way to Say: Destroyed / Took down
6. Cut down
Meaning: To kill or stop someone quickly
Sample Sentences: The tree was cut down by lightning. / The player was cut down during the game.
Other Way to Say: Stopped / Knocked out
7. Erase
Meaning: To remove something fully
Sample Sentences: The villain wanted to erase his past. / All signs of the mistake were erased.
Other Way to Say: Got rid of / Removed
8. End
Meaning: To finish something, including life
Sample Sentences: The book ends with the villain’s fall. / They ended the trouble for good.
Other Way to Say: Finished / Closed
9. Put an end to
Meaning: To stop something finally
Sample Sentences: The knight put an end to the dragon. / That rule put an end to the chaos.
Other Way to Say: Finished / Closed down
10. Blow away
Meaning: To defeat or kill fast
Sample Sentences: The wind blew away the umbrella. / In the movie, the hero blew away the bad guys.
Other Way to Say: Got rid of / Took down
11. Silence
Meaning: To stop someone or something from speaking or acting
Sample Sentences: The villain silenced the witness. / He tried to silence the truth.
Other Way to Say: Mute / Shut down
12. Knock off
Meaning: To kill or remove someone quickly
Sample Sentences: In the movie, they knocked off the gang leader. / The video game lets you knock off enemies.
Other Way to Say: Take down / Get rid of
13. Take care of
Meaning: To kill or handle someone quietly
Sample Sentences: The spy was told to take care of the target. / Don’t worry, he’ll take care of it.
Other Way to Say: Handle it / Deal with it
14. Cut off
Meaning: To stop something completely
Sample Sentences: The power was cut off. / They cut off his chance to escape.
Other Way to Say: Stop / Shut out
15. Give the axe
Meaning: To fire or get rid of someone
Sample Sentences: The coach gave the player the axe. / He got the axe for bad behavior.
Other Way to Say: Fired / Kicked out
16. Send to the grave
Meaning: To cause someone’s death
Sample Sentences: The illness sent many to the grave. / The battle sent soldiers to the grave.
Other Way to Say: Brought death / Took lives
17. Shut down
Meaning: To stop or end something fully
Sample Sentences: They shut down the operation. / The robot was shut down forever.
Other Way to Say: Closed / Stopped
18. Bring down
Meaning: To defeat or end someone’s power or life
Sample Sentences: The hero brought down the evil king. / The fire brought down the building.
Other Way to Say: Defeated / Ended
19. Ice
Meaning: Slang for killing
Sample Sentences: The thief got iced in the chase. / He was iced before he could talk.
Other Way to Say: Taken out / Knocked off
20. Finish off
Meaning: To kill or complete the ending of something
Sample Sentences: He finished off the last enemy. / They finished off the match with a win.
Other Way to Say: Ended / Closed it out
21. Drop
Meaning: To kill or knock down quickly
Sample Sentences: He dropped the bad guy with one move. / The boxer dropped his opponent.
Other Way to Say: Took down / Knocked out
22. Level
Meaning: To destroy completely
Sample Sentences: The bomb leveled the town. / The bulldozer leveled the old house.
Other Way to Say: Flattened / Took down
23. Cancel
Meaning: To stop something from continuing
Sample Sentences: They canceled the plan. / The show was canceled after the lead actor left.
Other Way to Say: Ended / Called off
24. Wreck
Meaning: To destroy fully
Sample Sentences: The storm wrecked the farm. / His words wrecked her mood.
Other Way to Say: Broke / Destroyed
25. Bury
Meaning: To hide or remove something by force
Sample Sentences: The secret was buried with him. / He buried his past.
Other Way to Say: Covered / Hid
26. Destroy
Meaning: To ruin or end completely
Sample Sentences: The fire destroyed everything. / The monster destroyed the village.
Other Way to Say: Broke / Ended
27. Break down
Meaning: To ruin or stop something from working
Sample Sentences: The truck broke down. / He broke down their plan.
Other Way to Say: Crushed / Stopped
28. Choke out
Meaning: To stop something by force
Sample Sentences: He choked out the sound. / The smoke choked out the fire.
Other Way to Say: Ended / Blocked
29. Flatten
Meaning: To destroy or bring to the ground
Sample Sentences: The wrecking ball flattened the house. / The punch flattened his opponent.
Other Way to Say: Smashed / Knocked down
30. Collapse
Meaning: To fall and end completely
Sample Sentences: The wall collapsed. / His plan collapsed after the mistake.
Other Way to Say: Fell apart / Failed
31. Break off
Meaning: To stop or separate suddenly
Sample Sentences: The fight broke off suddenly. / He broke off contact.
Other Way to Say: Stopped / Cut out
32. Axe
Meaning: To end or fire someone or something
Sample Sentences: The show was axed after one season. / He axed the idea quickly.
Other Way to Say: Ended / Removed
33. Burn down
Meaning: To destroy fully with fire
Sample Sentences: The barn burned down. / They burned down the old house.
Other Way to Say: Destroyed / Turned to ashes
34. Wipe clean
Meaning: To remove all traces of something
Sample Sentences: He wiped the slate clean. / The hard drive was wiped clean.
Other Way to Say: Cleared / Removed
35. Cut out
Meaning: To stop something suddenly
Sample Sentences: The power cut out during the storm. / He cut out the sound.
Other Way to Say: Stopped / Shut off
36. Clean out
Meaning: To remove completely
Sample Sentences: The flood cleaned out the village. / The boss cleaned out the lazy workers.
Other Way to Say: Emptied / Cleared away
37. Smash
Meaning: To break or destroy by force
Sample Sentences: He smashed the alarm clock. / The car smashed into the wall.
Other Way to Say: Crushed / Broke
38. Cut short
Meaning: To stop something early
Sample Sentences: His speech was cut short by a loud noise. / The storm cut short the party.
Other Way to Say: Ended early / Stopped quickly
39. Take down
Meaning: To defeat or remove
Sample Sentences: The police took down the bad guys. / He took down the flag.
Other Way to Say: Removed / Beat
40. Break in two
Meaning: To end something by splitting it
Sample Sentences: He broke the stick in two. / The news broke her heart in two.
Other Way to Say: Split / Ruined
41. Push over the edge
Meaning: To cause someone to break down or fall
Sample Sentences: The stress pushed him over the edge. / The truth pushed her to act.
Other Way to Say: Made snap / Caused breakdown
42. Blow up
Meaning: To destroy using an explosion
Sample Sentences: The villain blew up the building. / The balloon blew up and popped.
Other Way to Say: Exploded / Destroyed
43. End the line
Meaning: To stop something from continuing
Sample Sentences: That move ended the family line. / The factory closed and ended the line.
Other Way to Say: Finished it / Closed the line
44. Shatter
Meaning: To break into many pieces
Sample Sentences: The window shattered in the storm. / His dreams were shattered.
Other Way to Say: Broke / Crushed
45. Rip apart
Meaning: To tear or destroy fully
Sample Sentences: The dog ripped apart the toy. / The storm ripped apart the roof.
Other Way to Say: Tore up / Broke apart
46. Snip off
Meaning: To cut and remove quickly
Sample Sentences: He snipped off the old branch. / The wires were snipped off.
Other Way to Say: Cut / Clipped
47. Drive out
Meaning: To force something to leave
Sample Sentences: They drove out the invaders. / The noise drove out the animals.
Other Way to Say: Removed / Forced away
48. Beat down
Meaning: To defeat or harm badly
Sample Sentences: The sun beat down on us. / The boxer beat down his rival.
Other Way to Say: Hit hard / Knocked out
49. Blow to bits
Meaning: To break into small parts
Sample Sentences: The rocket blew to bits. / The bomb blew the car to bits.
Other Way to Say: Smashed / Broke up
50. Strike down
Meaning: To kill or defeat suddenly
Sample Sentences: Lightning struck down the tree. / The illness struck him down fast.
Other Way to Say: Hit / Took down
51. Melt away
Meaning: To disappear slowly
Sample Sentences: The snow melted away. / His anger melted away after the hug.
Other Way to Say: Faded / Disappeared
52. Send off
Meaning: To let someone leave forever
Sample Sentences: They sent off the old king. / He was sent off with honor.
Other Way to Say: Let go / Said goodbye
53. Blow the lights out
Meaning: To knock someone out or kill
Sample Sentences: One punch blew his lights out. / The hero blew the lights out of the villain.
Other Way to Say: Knocked out / Ended it
54. Squeeze out
Meaning: To push something away completely
Sample Sentences: The pressure squeezed out the last bit of hope. / He was squeezed out of the game.
Other Way to Say: Pushed out / Forced away
55. Drain life
Meaning: To slowly take away life or energy
Sample Sentences: The heat drained the life from the plants. / The sickness drained her life.
Other Way to Say: Took energy / Weakened
Multiple Choice Quiz: Metaphors for Killing
1. What does it mean if a movie character “pulls the plug” on a plan?
A) They fix it
B) They stop it
C) They build it
2. If someone “snuffs out” a flame, what are they doing?
A) Starting a fire
B) Letting it burn
C) Ending it quickly
3. What does “put to sleep” often mean in a story about a pet?
A) Giving it a nap
B) Ending its life kindly
C) Teaching it to rest
4. If a video game says you “took out” the enemy, what happened?
A) You made a friend
B) You removed the enemy
C) You invited them to lunch
5. What does it mean when a hero “finishes off” a villain?
A) Lets the villain go
B) Defeats the villain for good
C) Starts a new plan
6. If a machine is “shut down,” what happened?
A) It’s working better
B) It got upgraded
C) It stopped working
7. What does “cut short” mean in a story?
A) Something ended earlier than planned
B) Something was made longer
C) Someone got a haircut
8. If a person is “struck down” in battle, what happened to them?
A) They won the fight
B) They were defeated or killed
C) They joined the army
9. What does it mean to “erase” someone from history in a book?
A) To write more about them
B) To make them famous
C) To remove them completely
10. If someone “burns down” a house in a movie, what happens?
A) They clean it
B) They destroy it with fire
C) They paint it
11. What does “drive out” mean when used in a story?
A) To force something to leave
B) To take someone for a ride
C) To invite someone in
12. If a team gets “wiped out” in a game, what happened?
A) They won
B) They rested
C) They all lost or were removed
Answer Key
- B) They stop it
- C) Ending it quickly
- B) Ending its life kindly
- B) You removed the enemy
- B) Defeats the villain for good
- C) It stopped working
- A) Something ended earlier than planned
- B) They were defeated or killed
- C) To remove them completely
- B) They destroy it with fire
- A) To force something to leave
- C) They all lost or were removed
Scoring Guide
- 12 Correct Answers: Metaphor Master! You really understand what these sayings mean.
- 8–11 Correct Answers: Great job! You’re learning fast and getting strong with metaphors.
- 4–7 Correct Answers: You’re getting there! Just keep practicing and you’ll get even better.
- 0–3 Correct Answers: Let’s learn together! Go over the list again and try once more.
Conclusion
Metaphors help people say strong things in a softer or more creative way. Instead of using the word “kill,” they use other words that show the same idea. These words can help stories feel more interesting and less scary.
Now that you’ve learned many different metaphors for killing, try to notice them in books, movies, or games. You might even try using one in your own writing. Just remember, they don’t mean exactly what they say. They help readers picture what’s happening in a better way. Keep practicing and these phrases will become easier to understand and use.
