electrocute
verb
elec·tro·cute
| \ i-ˈlek-trə-ˌkyüt
\
\
electrocuted;
electrocuting
Definition of electrocute
1
: to kill or severely injure by electric shock
Because of flawed electrical work by contractors, the bulletin stated, soldiers at U.S. bases in Iraq had received severe electrical shocks, and some had even been electrocuted.— James Risen But if a power outage occurs, the PV [photovoltaic] system has to shut down or it could electrocute utility workers who think they're working on dead lines. — Popular Science He was working on Pier 38 on the West Side of Manhattan when he was accidently electrocuted by a high-voltage wire. He suffered second- and third-degree burns and had to undergo painful skin grafts.— Robert I. Friedman
2
: to execute (a criminal) by electricity
Two of the big fish, Emanuel (Mendy) Weiss and Louis Capone, ultimately were convicted and electrocuted with the boss himself …— Scott Christianson
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Other Words from electrocute
electrocution
\ i-ˌlek-trə-ˈkyü-shən
\
noun
\
noun
Last year, we spent our vacation in a rustic cabin in Burgundy, where we … risked electrocution every time we recharged our laptop using the cabin's rustic, non-grounded electrical outlets.
— Laura Colby
In 1982, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection or electrocution.
— Lola Ogunnaike
Examples of electrocute in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Taking Windowpane was like being electrocuted by heaven. — Chris Rush, Harper's magazine, "Love and Acid," 19 Aug. 2019 Edison's propaganda machine pumped out hundreds of flyers and pamphlets on the dangers of alternating current, even electrocuting small animals in front of newspaper reporters. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "AC/DC: It’s Tesla duking it out with Edison in The Current War trailer," 27 June 2019 But the Dallas County medical examiner determined he had been electrocuted. — Sara Coello, Dallas News, "25-year-old man found dead was electrocuted, Dallas County medical examiner says," 23 June 2019 Diaz was electrocuted and thrown backward into a brick wall, according to the report. — Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Maintenance worker at abandoned Northridge Mall dies from electrocution after putting hand in transformer box," 23 July 2019 During the war in Cyprus in 1974, mothers told daughters how to electrocute themselves if Turkish soldiers approached, to avert the pain and shame of rape. — The Economist, "A grimly compelling study of the psychology of fanaticism," 11 July 2019 On fur farms, mink, foxes and rabbits are kept in small, filthy cages their entire lives before being anally electrocuted, gassed or bludgeoned to death. — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, "Letter: With anti-cruelty bill California can be a leader in compassion," 2 July 2019 The young men jumped in to rescue the dog but were electrocuted after trying to get out. — Nick Sestanovich, The Mercury News, "New lawsuits claim ‘bypassed’ safety device to blame for electrocution of Two North Bay teens," 23 June 2019 Niraj Mishra, a sub-divisional magistrate of Barmer district, told Reuters that some people died after being electrocuted by live electricity wires as the tent collapsed, while others were hit by falling debris. — Fox News, "Tent collapses amid thunderstorm, heavy rain killing at least 14, injuring 50 in India," 24 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'electrocute.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for electrocute
electrocute
verb
English Language Learners Definition of electrocute
: to kill (a person or animal) by electric shock
See the full definition for electrocute in the English Language Learners Dictionary
electrocute
verb
elec·tro·cute
| \ i-ˈlek-trə-ˌkyüt
\
\
electrocuted;
electrocuting
Kids Definition of electrocute
: to kill by an electric shock
electrocute
transitive verb
elec·tro·cute
| \ i-ˈlek-trə-ˌkyüt
\
\
electrocuted;
electrocuting
Medical Definition of electrocute
1
: to kill or severely injure by electric shock
2
: to execute (a criminal) by electricity
Other Words from electrocute
electrocution
\ -ˌlek-trə-ˈkyü-shən
\
noun
\
noun
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electrocute
transitive verb
elec·tro·cute
electrocuted;
electrocuting
Legal Definition of electrocute
: to execute (a convicted criminal) by electricity