suicide

 
Pronunciation: /ˈs(j)uːɪsʌɪd/

noun

[mass noun]
  • the action of killing oneself intentionally: he committed suicide at the age of forty [count noun]: drug-related suicides
  • [count noun] a person who commits suicide: a stretch of the line popular with would-be suicides
  • a course of action which is disastrously damaging to oneself or one’s interests: it would be political suicide to restrict criteria for unemployment benefit
  • [as modifier] relating to or denoting a military or terrorist operation carried out by people who do not expect to survive it: a suicide bomber

verb

[no object]
  • intentionally kill oneself: she suicided in a very ugly manner

Origin:

mid 17th century: from modern Latin suicida 'act of suicide', suicidium 'person who commits suicide', from Latin sui 'of oneself' + caedere 'kill'