roadkill

noun

road·​kill ˈrōd-ˌkil How to pronounce roadkill (audio)
1
: the remains of an animal that has been killed on a road by a motor vehicle
2
: one that falls victim to intense competition
political roadkill
road-killed
ˈrōd-ˌkild How to pronounce roadkill (audio)
adjective

Examples of roadkill in a Sentence

There is a lot of roadkill along the highway.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
They can be spotted along highways eating roadkill. — Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 3 May 2026 Coyotes are also scavengers and will feast on roadkill and clean up the environment. — Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 19 Mar. 2026 His campaign spokesperson Stefanie Spear, now a top adviser at the nation's health department, said roadkill was how Kennedy, a longtime falconer, fed his birds. — ABC News, 26 May 2026 While roadkill is never pleasant, the animals could bring an opportunity to conduct scientific research more ethically. — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 3 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for roadkill

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of roadkill was in 1946

Rhymes for roadkill

See All Rhymes for roadkill

Browse Nearby Words

roading
roadkill
roadless
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Roadkill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roadkill. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All