(someone) away illegally and usually by force, in order to enforce demands (especially money) for their safe return
—~per n; The kidnappers demanded an enormous ransom.
$  \text{kidnap}^2  $ n an act of kidnapping: took part in a kidnap (attempt)
Kid·napped /'kɪdnæpt/ (1886) an adventure story by Robert Louis STEVENSON about a young man called David Balfour who is kidnapped, but escapes. He and his friend, Alan Breck, see a man being killed, and people think that they did it, so they run away and travel across the Highlands of Scotland.
kid·ney /'kɪdni/ n 1 [C] either of the pair of bodily organs in the lower back area, which separate waste liquid from the blood 2 [C;U] such an organ or organs from an animal, used as food; steak and kidney pie
'kidney bean n a dark red bean that is shaped like a kidney and eaten as a vegetable
'kidney machine n a large machine, especially in a hospital, that can do the work of human kidneys, for people whose own kidneys do not work or have been removed
'kid's stuff BrE || 'kid stuff AmE— n [U] infml something that is suitable only for children because it is too simple, 'UNSOPHIS-TICATED', or boring: The exam was kid stuff compared to the one we had last year.
Kier·ke·gaard, Sö·ren Aa·bye /'kirekəgɑːdl
'kierkəgɑːrd, 'sɜːrən 'aːbi/ (1813–55) a Danish PHILOSOPHER who is known for establishing the philosophy of EXISTENTIALISM
Ki·ev /'ki:ef, -ev/ the capital city of Ukraine, an industrial centre and important port → see also CHICKEN KIEV
kike /kaɪk/ n AmE taboo slang an offensive word for a Jewish person
Ki·ku·yu /ki'ku:juː/ n 1 the Kikuyu [P] a tribe in northern Kenya 2 [C] a member of this tribe → see also MAU MAU —Kikuyu adj
Kil-dare /kil'deər/ a COUNTY in the east of the Republic of Ireland
Kil-i-man-ja-ro /,kil-mən'dza-rəu/ also Mount Kiliman-jaro a mountain in Tanzania that is the highest mountain in Africa
Kil-ken-ny /kil'keni/ a COUNTY in the southeast of the Republic of Ireland
kill¹ /kɪl/ v 1 [ɑːt] to cause death or cause to die: Handle these toxic substances carefully; they can kill. | He was killed in the war/in a car crash. | The cold weather killed all the plants. | (fig.) My feet are killing me! (=hurting very much) | (fig.) The boss will kill me (=be very angry at me) if she finds out about this. | This guy really kills me! (=makes me laugh a lot) 2 [T] to cause to stop, finish, or fail: That mistake has killed his chances. | His tactless remark killed the conversation. | The newspaper editor killed the story (before it was printed). | He drinks to kill the pain. | Kill the lights. (=turn them off) 3 [T] to destroy, weaken, or spoil the effect of (something) by comparison with it or closeness to it: That red sofa kills (the effect of) the grey wall. 4 kill someone with kindness to treat someone too kindly, so that they feel uncomfortable 5 kill the fatted calf especially humor or pomp to welcome joyfully and with generous entertainment someone who has returned after a long absence (from the welcoming party given on the return of the PRODIGAL SON in the Bible) 6 kill time to make time pass quickly by finding something to do: We killed time by playing cards. 7 kill two birds with one stone to get two good results from one action: Since Wendy lives near my mother, I'll call in on her as well and kill two birds with one stone. → see also dressed to kill (DRESS¹)
Kill is a general word meaning to cause (anything) to die: My uncle was killed in a plane crash. The cold weather killed our tomato plants. Murder means to kill a person on purpose: She was sent to prison for murdering her husband. Slaughter and butcher mean to kill animals for food, but both words are also used to describe cruel or unnecessary killing of humans: Our army was butchered by the enemy's much larger forces. Thousands of people are needlessly slaughtered in road accidents. To assassinate means to kill an important political figure: an attempt to assassinate the President. To massacre means to kill large numbers of (defenceless) people: The army entered the city and massacred all the women and children.
kill sthg. ⇔ off phr v [T] to kill (a lot of living things), usually one at a time: The trees were killed off by the severe winter.
kill² n 1 [S] a bird or animal killed in hunting: The lion was eating his kill. → see also ROADKILL 2 [the] the act or moment of killing especially hunted birds or animals: (fig.) All his business rivals came to the bankruptcy proceedings to be in at/on the kill.
kill·er¹ /'kilər/ n a person, animal, or thing that kills: This disease is a killer. | killer sharks | There's a killer at large.
killer² adj [A] 1 very harmful or dangerous: a killer's hurricane | a swarm of killer bees 2 infml very attractive, good, impressive etc: a book called 'How to Build a Killer Website'
,killer appli'cation n a product, typically a SOFTWARE prod-uct, that is so good and useful that millions of people want to buy it.
'killer, instinct n the natural ability or tendency to try to harm or kill another animal: (fig.) Jim's really showing his killer instinct now that his company is in trouble.
'killer whale n a small fierce meat-eating WHALE
kill·ing $ ^{1} $ /'kɪlɪŋ/ n 1 a murder: a series of gangland killings 2 make a killing to make a lot of money suddenly, especially in business
killing² adj infml extremely tiring: This work is really killing.
—~ly adv
'Killing Fields, The (1984) a British film about the events in Cambodia in 1975–79, when Pol Pot and the KHMER ROUGE were in power and killed millions of people
kill-joy /'kildʒɔː/ n derog a person who intentionally spoils the pleasure of other people
kiln /kiln/ n a box-shaped heating apparatus for baking pots or bricks, or for drying wood: a brick kiln | kiln-dried oak
Kil-ner jar /'kilnə dʒɑːrˈlɨ-nər-/ BrE trademark a cylindrical CYLINDER glass container with a tight lid, used for preserving fruit and vegetables → compare MASON JAR
ki·lo /'kiːləʊ/ n pl. kilos infml a KILOGRAM: I weigh 52 kilos. | A kilo of apples, please.
kilo- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
kil·o·byte /'kɪləbaɪt/ abrev. K n 1000 or 1024 BYTES of computer information
kil-o-cal-o-rie /'kilə,kæləri/ n a CALORIE
kil-o-gram, -gramme /'kɪləgræm/ written abbrev. kg n a unit of weight equal to 2.20 pounds: The sack weighed 30 kilograms. → see TABLE 2
kil·o·hertz /'kiləhɜːts|-3;r-/ also kil·o·cy·cle /'kilə,sækəl/ n 1000 HERTZ
kil-o-joule /'kiladzuːl-dʒuːl, -dʒəʊl/ n a unit of work or ENERGY equal to 1000 JOULES
kil·o·li·tre BrE || -ter AmE /'kilə,liːtər/ n a unit of amount → see TABLE 2
kil·o·me·tre BrE ‖ -ter AmE /'kɪlə,miːtər, ki'lomʌtər ‖
ki'laɪmʌtər/ written abbrev. km n a unit for measuring length:
The bridge is almost 2 kilometres long. → see TABLE 2
kil-o-watt /'kiləwɒt/ -wɑːt/ n 1000 WATTS
,kilowatt 'hour written abbrev. kwh n the amount of ENERGY produced by a kilowatt over a period of an hour. It is the unit usually used by electricity companies for setting their prices.
Kil·roy /'kilrɔi/ an unknown or imaginary man, whose name is used in phrases such as 'Kilroy was here' or 'Kilroy slept here', which people often write on walls in public places. These phrases were first used by US soldiers in World War II, but their origin is not known.
kilt /kilt/ n a skirt with many pressed folds at the back and sides, and usually of a TARTAN pattern, worn especially by Scotsmen