What does serial killer mean?

Definitions for serial killer
se·ri·al killer

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word serial killer.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. serial killer, serial murderernoun

    someone who murders more than three victims one at a time in a relatively short interval

Wiktionary

  1. serial killernoun

    A person who commits multiple (more than two) murders, especially similar ones with no obvious motive over a period of time with a "cooling-off" period between each murder.

Wikipedia

  1. Serial killer

    A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three murders, others extend it to four or lessen it to two.Psychological gratification is the usual motive for serial killing, and many serial murders involve sexual contact with the victim. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states that the motives of serial killers can include anger, thrill-seeking, financial gain, and attention seeking, and killings may be executed as such. The victims may have something in common; for example, demographic profile, appearance, gender or race. Often the FBI will focus on a particular pattern serial killers follow. Based on this pattern, this will give key clues into finding the killer along with their motives.Although a serial killer is a distinct classification that differs from that of a mass murderer, spree killer, or contract killer, there exist conceptual overlaps between them. Some debate exists on the specific criteria for each category, especially with regard to the distinction between spree killers and serial killers.

ChatGPT

  1. serial killer

    A serial killer is typically defined as a person who commits murder on three or more occasions, with a 'cooling off' period in between, which can range from weeks to years. These individuals often exhibit a pattern or signature method in their killings, motivated by abnormal psychological gratification. The motives behind their crimes can vary, including anger, thrill-seeking, financial gain, and attention seeking. Their crimes usually have a degree of premeditation and are not committed in the heat of the moment.

Wikidata

  1. Serial killer

    A serial killer is traditionally defined as a person who has killed three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification. Some sources, such as the FBI, disregard the "three or more" criteria and define the term as "a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone" or, including the vital characteristics, a minimum of two murders. Often, a sexual element is involved in the killings, but the FBI states that motives for serial murder include "anger, thrill, financial gain, and attention seeking". The murders may have been attempted or completed in a similar fashion and the victims may have had something in common; for example, occupation, race, appearance, sex, or age group. Serial killers are not the same as mass murderers, nor are they spree killers, who commit murders in two or more locations with virtually no break in between; however, cases of extended bouts of sequential killings over periods of weeks or months with no apparent "cooling off" period or "return to normalcy" have caused some serial killer experts to suggest a hybrid category of "spree-serial killer".

Suggested Resources

  1. serial killer

    Read the full text of the Serial Killer poem by Nikhil Parekh on the Poetry.com website.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce serial killer?

How to say serial killer in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of serial killer in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of serial killer in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of serial killer in a Sentence

  1. Dave Reichert:

    We were pretty surprised that Ted Bundy would write to the task force, he made it very clear what his purpose was in his letter. What he wanted to do, according to his description, was to get us into the mind of a serial killer. But we knew, just by the way the letter was written and the words he used, that he was just injecting himself into the situation, trying to find out as much as he could about the case.

  2. Thomas Hargrove:

    When you put the narratives together ... it just screams serial killer.

  3. Detroit Police Chief James Craig:

    I appreciate our friends in the media for really dispelling a horrible rumor that was circulating across the city that there was a serial killer and that he had dumped five bodies in dumpsters across the city, that was absolutely false, you knew it was false and we only ask that if you didn't hear it from the Detroit Police Department, it's probably not so.

  4. Ross County Prosecutor Matt Schmidt:

    At this point, there’s no smoking gun that says, ‘Hey, we’ve got a serial killer on the loose,’ we have missing people and we have a homicide. There are certainly people talking in the community and people that are upset and understandably concerned about that. When there are those concerns, we don’t rule that out. We have to keep an open mind to the possibilities, but the evidence is going to dictate where we go with the investigation.

  5. James Craig:

    It appears we may have a serial killer.


Translations for serial killer

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for serial killer »

Translation

Find a translation for the serial killer definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"serial killer." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/serial+killer>.

Discuss these serial killer definitions with the community:

1 Comment
  • Bell Street
    Bell Street
    i am mercy jesae from California, i have been surfing from Hiv Disease for past 2years now, the experiences was really bad, i was passing through a lot of hard times.. some of my symptoms where anxiety or apathy and fatigue, dizziness, poor balance, one day i was searching through the internet for natural remedies for Hiv Disease, i saw several post about this dr called “DR BELLO” cure for Hiv Disease, and some Disease, so i was very convinced and ready to be cured with their natural remedies, so i contacted him and i purchased some herbal medicine for the cure, after few days of usage about one week i was free completely of the symptoms and went for a text and i can say now i am free from Hiv Disease totally…. indeed their remedies are supper effective… contact him today on his email: bellospelltemple@gmail.com or whatsApp or call him on +2348147271779 good luck. 
    LikeReply5 years ago

Are we missing a good definition for serial killer? Don't keep it to yourself...

Image or illustration of

serial killer

Credit »

Free, no signup required:

Add to Chrome

Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

Free, no signup required:

Add to Firefox

Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

Browse Definitions.net

Quiz

Are you a words master?

»
make more complex, intricate, or richer
A blur
B distinguish
C refine
D aggravate

Nearby & related entries:

Alternative searches for serial killer: