scream bloody murder

mur·der

[mur-der]
noun
1.
Law. the killing of another human being under conditions specifically covered in law. In the U.S., special statutory definitions include murder committed with malice aforethought, characterized by deliberation or premeditation or occurring during the commission of another serious crime, as robbery or arson (first-degree murder) and murder by intent but without deliberation or premeditation (second-degree murder)
2.
Slang. something extremely difficult or perilous: That final exam was murder!
3.
a group or flock of crows.
verb (used with object)
4.
Law. to kill by an act constituting murder.
5.
to kill or slaughter inhumanly or barbarously.
6.
to spoil or mar by bad performance, representation, pronunciation, etc.: The tenor murdered the aria.
00:10
Scream bloody murder is always a great word to know.
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the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
7.
to commit murder.
Idioms
8.
get away with murder, Informal. to engage in a deplorable activity without incurring harm or punishment: The new baby-sitter lets the kids get away with murder.
9.
murder will out, a secret will eventually be exposed.
10.
yell/scream bloody murder,
a.
to scream loudly in pain, fear, etc.
b.
to protest loudly and angrily: If I don't get a good raise I'm going to yell bloody murder.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English mo(u)rdre, murder, variant (influenced by Old French murdre < Germanic) of murthre murther

Related forms
self-mur·der, noun
self-mur·dered, adjective

Can be confused: homicide, kill, manslaughter, murder (see synonym study at kill).

Synonym Study
4. See kill1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
murder (ˈmɜːdə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  manslaughter Compare homicide the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another
2.  informal something dangerous, difficult, or unpleasant: driving around London is murder
3.  informal cry blue murder to make an outcry
4.  informal get away with murder to escape censure; do as one pleases
 
—vb
5.  (also intr) to kill (someone) unlawfully with premeditation or during the commission of a crime
6.  to kill brutally
7.  informal to destroy; ruin: he murdered her chances of happiness
8.  informal to defeat completely; beat decisively: the home team murdered their opponents
 
[Old English morthor; related to Old English morth, Old Norse morth, Latin mors death; compare French meurtre]
 
'murderer
 
—n
 
'murderess
 
—fem n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

murder
O.E. morðor (pl. morþras) "secret killing of a person, unlawful killing," also "mortal sin, crime, punishment, torment, misery," from P.Gmc. *murthran (cf. Goth maurþr, O.Fris. morth, O.N. morð, M.Du. moort, Ger. Mord "murder"). from PIE *mrtro-, from base *mor-/*mr- "to die" (cf.
L. mors, gen. mortis "death;" mori "to die;" see mortal). The spelling with -d- probably reflects influence of Anglo-Fr. murdre, from O.Fr. mordre, from M.L. murdrum, from the W.Gmc. root. Viking custom, typical of Gmc., distinguished morð (O.N.) "secret slaughter," from vig (O.N.) "slaying." The former involved concealment, or slaying a man by night or when asleep, and was a heinous crime. The latter was not a disgrace, if the killer acknowledged his deed, but he was subject to vengeance or demand for compensation.
"Mordre wol out that se we day by day." [Chaucer, "Nun's Priest's Tale," c.1386]
Weakened sense of "very unpleasant situation" is from 1878. The verb is O.E. myrðrian, from P.Gmc. *murthjan. Related: Murdered; murdering.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

murder definition


and slaughter
  1. tv.
    to overwhelm; to beat someone in a sports contest. : We went out on the field prepared to slaughter them. The murdered us in the second half.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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scream bloody murder definition


  1. tv.
    to scream very loudly; to complain or protest loudly. : She screams bloody murder every time I get near her.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Easton
Bible Dictionary

Murder definition


Wilful murder was distinguished from accidental homicide, and was invariably visited with capital punishment (Num. 35:16, 18, 21, 31; Lev. 24:17). This law in its principle is founded on the fact of man's having been made in the likeness of God (Gen. 9:5, 6; John 8:44; 1 John 3:12, 15). The Mosiac law prohibited any compensation for murder or the reprieve of the murderer (Ex. 21:12, 14; Deut. 19:11, 13; 2 Sam. 17:25; 20:10). Two witnesses were required in any capital case (Num. 35:19-30; Deut. 17:6-12). If the murderer could not be discovered, the city nearest the scene of the murder was required to make expiation for the crime committed (Deut. 21:1-9). These offences also were to be punished with death, (1) striking a parent; (2) cursing a parent; (3) kidnapping (Ex. 21:15-17; Deut. 27:16).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

scream bloody murder

Angrily protest as loudly as possible, as in When Jimmy took her teddy bear, Lauren screamed bloody murder, or Residents are screaming bloody murder about the increase in property taxes. The scream here may be either literal (as in the first example) or figurative, which is also true of invoking murder as though one were in danger of being killed. Versions of this term, such as cry murder, date from the 1400s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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