to kill for
41
7.3
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
matar por
- I would kill for that.
- people would kill for
- kill for food
- kill for a job
I wouldn't what I would, I would always kill for the single occupant bathroom.
- I wouldn't what I would, I would always kill for the single occupant bathroom.
- And it's the playbook that I would have absolutely killed for eight years ago.
- And they just say when I was struggling for acting work back in Illinois, I would have killed for the part of cicada in Larval Stage.
- I mean, if you can buy a house for your mom, you know, or, or pay off some debts that you might have or a car, that's enough to kill for.
Examples
-
There's cable, there's theater, and there are other studios that would kill for you.
Fiction book (1991) -
She has this luminous skin that I would kill for.
-
Now I want to kill for you.
-
I would kill for you.
-
I would kill for this job.
-
Some people would kill for a job, while I have two.
Blog text (6) -
Boy, I'd kill for a foot massage right now.
-
People I know would kill for an internship here.
-
Oh, I would've killed for a moment like this in high school.
-
I would kill for a chance to travel the world and experience new cultures.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To wish to have or do something
∞
1.0
To want something, often as a polite request
598
7.9
To want something very much
446
1.6
To want something very much
1
9.9
To want something very much
Antonyms
How Desirable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'kill' is used here hyperbolically and the preposition 'for' retains no compositional role that would signal intense desire; the overall meaning 'want something very much' is an idiomatic, non-literal extension rather than a predictable combination of the parts. This figurative, culture-dependent use is unlikely to be derived by a B1 learner who only knows the literal meanings of 'kill' and 'for'.
Etymology
Kill for may come from a strong image: imagine wanting something so badly you would even kill for it. That's why it means 'to want something very much'.