Verb the church bells knelled to mark the death of the nation's beloved leader
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
For some Massachusetts homeowners, the drought is the death knell for caring about how their yard and gardens look to both themselves and others. Deirdre Reilly, Fox News, 1 Aug. 2022 There remains an uneasiness over what might be the death knell for women’s cricket in Afghanistan, particularly from Australia and independent board director Indra Nooyi, according to sources. Tristan Lavalette, Forbes, 18 July 2022 The death knell that had sounded as the Aral began its long retreat was now fading away. Henry Wismayer, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Aug. 2022 The death knell that had sounded as the Aral began its long retreat was now fading away. Henry Wismayer, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022 Rhodes won with multiple Cross Rhodes, and finally delivered the death knell with a sledgehammer in an extremely heated match. Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 6 June 2022 That came as a shock to many in the Democratic Caucus and seemed to sound the death knell for the Build Back Better act for a while. Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 9 Aug. 2022 The death knell for me with the Pixel Buds Pro is audio quality. Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, 28 July 2022 Musical styles—jazz, hip-hop, a kind of stilted neo-soul, the exaggerated gospel that is so often the corny death knell for musicals—fly by. Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022
Verb
Day 18: Hard to focus with all the death knells tolling. Daniel Pollack-pelzner, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2020 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb and Noun
Middle English, from Old English cnyllan; akin to Middle High German erknellen to toll
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1