make a killing
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Have a great financial success.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
In slump - hit Britain, one company is making a real killing
Mr Steinkühler, a member of Daimler - Benz's supervisory board, made a killing by buying shares of Mercedes Holding shortly before they were exchanged for shares in Daimler - Benz.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “make a killing” mean?
Have a great financial success.
Is “make a killing” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.