Meaning & use
death knell
A sign, event, or signal that something is about to end or fail completely.
See it in a sentence
The new highway sounded the death knell for the small town's local shops.
Critics said the streaming era would be the death knell of traditional television.
A note on using this word
A "knell" was originally the slow ringing of a bell announcing a death, so the phrase always carries a sense of finality and decline.
Words with a similar meaning
death blowfinal blow
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
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