city killer

noun

An asteroid that could destroy a whole city on impact with Earth.

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Meanings

nouncity killer (plural city killers)

plural city killers

  1. informalastronomyAn asteroid that could destroy a whole city on impact with Earth.

    This lacuna in space regulation was highlighted earlier this year, when news spread of an asteroid, a potential “city killer” named 2024 YR4, thought to have a small chance of hitting Earth on December 22 2032.

    2025 December 20, Laura Battle, “Lunch with the FT: Maggie Aderin-Pocock”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3
Cite this entry
APA

city killer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/city%20killer

MLA

“city killer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/city%20killer. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “city killer,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/city%20killer.

Source: city killer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.