a hypothetical ray that destroys life from a distance
Word origin
[1915–20]This word is first recorded in the period 1915–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: GI, collage, markup, neorealism, soviet
Examples of 'death ray' in a sentence
death ray
He claimed to have invented a giant death ray.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
He said his plan was to hide the death ray inside a van and park it near to a target.
The Sun (2013)
They had been asked by officials in 1935 whether radio could provide a 'death ray'.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Is it some kind of death ray, emitted by the billions of nasty little pixels on the screen?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Physical power augmented by suspicion that he may have developed some sort of hi-tech death ray.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
In fact these are, respectively, a death ray and a highly-sophisticated technological interface - though the latter can, if need arises, also crush a man's skull.
The Sun (2010)
Because the side of the skyscraper is essentially a gigantic concave mirror, it's bound to focus the sun's rays into an intense, million-gigawatt death ray.
The Sun (2013)
It melted cars and prompted people to try frying eggs on the pavement last summer, above, with its 'solar death ray'.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The scariest part of this film is when the beepers indicating excessive exposure to invisible death rays go haywire.