murder

noun

/ˈmɜːdə(r)/

/ˈmɜːrdər/

Idioms

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[uncountable, countable] the crime of killing somebody deliberately synonym homicide
- He was found guilty of murder.
- She has been charged with the attempted murder of her husband.
- Who is responsible for this brutal murder?
- to commit (a) murder
- He was arrested on suspicion of murder.
- a murder case/investigation/charge/trial
- The rebels were responsible for the mass murder of 400 civilians.
- the families of the murder victims
- What was the murder weapon?
- The play is a murder mystery.
Collocations Crime
CrimeCommitting a crime
- commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud
- be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/people smuggling/human trafficking
- engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism
- steal somebody’s wallet/purse/(British English) mobile phone/(North American English) cell phone
- rob a bank/a person/a tourist
- break into/ (British English) burgle/ (North American English) burglarize a house/a home/an apartment
- hijack a plane/ship/bus
- smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/immigrants
- launder drug money (through something)
- forge documents/certificates/passports
- take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe
- run a phishing/an email/an internet scam
Fighting crime
- combat/fight crime/terrorism/corruption/drug trafficking
- prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy
- deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals
- reduce/tackle/crack down on knife/gun/violent/street crime; (especially British English) antisocial behaviour
- foil a bank raid/a terrorist plot
- help/support/protect the victims of crime
Investigating crime
- report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/(especially British English) an incident to the police
- witness the crime/attack/murder/incident
- investigate a murder/(especially North American English) a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident
- conduct/launch/pursue an investigation (into…); (especially British English) a police/murder inquiry
- investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case
- examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime
- collect/gather forensic evidence
- uncover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons
- describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker
- question/interrogate a suspect/witness
- solve/crack the case
compare manslaughter
Extra Examples
- He was convicted of the murder of a police officer.
- He committed the perfect murder and left no forensic evidence.
- She plays a detective investigating a double murder.
- He ordered the murder of his political opponents.
- He vowed to avenge his brother's murder.
- Her latest novel is a gripping murder mystery.
- It was a murder which shocked the nation.
- Nothing justifies murder.
- The city used to be the murder capital of the world.
- a city that has the highest murder rate in the US
- a verdict of wilful murder
- murders committed by terrorists
- new evidence that implicated her in the murder
- the wholesale murder of innocent citizens
- She had committed the murder the night before her thirtieth birthday.
Topics Crime and punishmentb1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- barbaric
- brutal
- grisly
- …
verb + murder
- carry out
- commit
- perpetrate
- …
murder + verb
- happen
- occur
- take place
- …
murder + noun
- victim
- suspect
- detective
- …
See full entry
[uncountable] (informal) used to describe something that is difficult or unpleasant
- It's murder trying to get to the airport at this time of day.
- It was murder (= very busy and unpleasant) in the office today.

Word OriginOld English morthor, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch moord and German Mord, from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit mará ‘death’ and Latin mors; reinforced in Middle English by Old French murdre.

Idioms

get away with murder

(informal, often humorous) to do whatever you want without being stopped or punished
- They let their children get away with murder!

scream blue murder (British English)

(North American English scream bloody murder)

to scream loudly and for a long time, especially in order to protest about something

murder

verb

/ˈmɜːdə(r)/

/ˈmɜːrdər/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they murder	/ˈmɜːdə(r)/ /ˈmɜːrdər/
he / she / it murders	/ˈmɜːdəz/ /ˈmɜːrdərz/
past simple murdered	/ˈmɜːdəd/ /ˈmɜːrdərd/
past participle murdered	/ˈmɜːdəd/ /ˈmɜːrdərd/
-ing form murdering	/ˈmɜːdərɪŋ/ /ˈmɜːrdərɪŋ/

Idioms

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murder somebody to kill somebody deliberately and illegally
- He denies murdering his wife's lover.
- The boy was brutally murdered.
- The murdered woman was well known in the area.
- She was convicted of attempting to murder her husband.
Extra Examples
- He was found murdered in the cemetery.
- Thirty people were murdered that day.
- She was arrested and charged with murdering the two children.
- They were murdered in cold blood.
- He uncovered a conspiracy to murder the royal family.
Topics Crime and punishmentb1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- brutally
- cruelly
- in cold blood
- …
verb + murder
- attempt to
- try to
- plan to
- …
phrases
- admit murdering somebody
- deny murdering somebody
- be accused of murdering somebody
- …
See full entry
murder something to change something good into something bad because you do not do it very well synonym butcher
- Critics accused him of murdering the English language (= writing or speaking it very badly).
murder somebody (informal) to defeat somebody completely, especially in a team sport synonym thrash
- England are getting murdered at the moment.

Idioms

I could murder a…

(informal, especially British English) used to say that you very much want to eat or drink something
- I could murder a beer.

somebody will/is going to murder you, me, etc.

(informal) used to warn or predict that another person will be very angry with somebody/you
- She's going to murder me if I don't get this finished on time.