shoot to kill

idiom

: to shoot a gun with the purpose of killing someone

Examples of shoot to kill in a Sentence

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
And even when the distressed person threatens them with a weapon, police don’t always shoot to kill; in the case of Faisal, an officer fired only after a nonlethal sponge round failed to slow him. — Laura Crimaldi, BostonGlobe.com, 3 June 2023 Another military intervention by Moscow in another former Soviet state with clear echoes of the Cold War. Bolstered by the Kremlin, the president's regained a fragile control, ordering his forces to shoot to kill. — ABC News, 9 Jan. 2022

Rhymes for shoot to kill

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shoot the rapids
shoot to kill
shoot up
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Cite this Entry

“Shoot to kill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shoot%20to%20kill. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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