counterkilling

noun

counterkilling

noun

Etymology From counter- + killing.

1

A killing carried out in response to another killing.

The mob pummeled the men suspected of being thugs, and this normally tranquil spot exploded into a melee of killings and counterkillings that left nearly 30 people dead.2009 April 22, Jeffrey Gettleman, “Kenyan Town Strikes Back Against Its Tormenters”, in New York Times:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.