kill two birds with one stone
kill two birds with one stone verb: to solve two problems with one single action.
Verb
kill two birds with one stone (third-person singular simple present kills two birds with one stone, present participle killing two birds with one stone, simple past and past participle killed two birds with one stone)
- To solve two problems with one single action.
- Biking to work kills two birds with one stone. It saves money travelling and will help to lose weight.
- In favouring the well-connected, politically and culturally sophisticated Italian merchants and diplomats who regularly arrived in England on curial business Henry killed two birds with one stone, gratifying popes by the attention and respect shown to their intimates, and employing them as his own...2011, Thomas Penn, Winter King, Penguin, published 2012, page 116
- Synonyms:
- feed two birds with one scone
kill two birds with one stone meaning in Hindi, Bengali, Telugu and Arabic
kill two birds with one stone in Hindi
- solve two problems at once
- एक पंथ दो काज ek panth do kāj
kill two birds with one stone in Bengali
- solve two problems at once
- এক ঢিলে দুই পাখি মারা ek ḍhile dui pakhi mara
kill two birds with one stone in Telugu
- solve two problems at once
- ఒకేదెబ్బకు రెండు పిట్టలు okēdebbaku reṇḍu piṭṭalu
kill two birds with one stone in Arabic
- solve two problems at once
- اِصْطَادَ عُصْفُورَيْن بِحَجَر وَاحِد iṣṭāda ʕuṣfūrayn biḥajar wāḥid
More languagesFewer languages
- kill two birds with one stone in Malay
- sambil menyelam minum air
- kill two birds with one stone in Persian
- با یک تیر دو نشان زدن bâ yek tir do nešân zadan
- kill two birds with one stone in Thai
- ยิงปืนนัดเดียวได้นกสองตัว ying bpeun nát dieow dâai nók sŏng dtua
- kill two birds with one stone in Vietnamese
- một công đôi việc, một công đôi chuyện, nhất cử lưỡng tiện, nhất tiễn song điêu
- kill two birds with one stone in Myanmar
- တစ်ချက်ခုတ် နှစ်ချက်ပြတ် tachkyakhkut hnachkyakprat
Synonyms of kill two birds with one stone
Forms of kill two birds with one stone
| third-person singular present | kills two birds with one stone |
|---|---|
| present participle | killing two birds with one stone |
| past participle | killed two birds with one stone |
| past | killed two birds with one stone |
Origin of kill two birds with one stone
Apparently coined by Dr. John Bramhall, Bishop of Derry, in a 1646 letter to Thomas Hobbes, later published in 1656. Compare earlier stop two gaps with one bush.
Words formed from kill two birds with one stone
Questions about kill two birds with one stone
- What does kill two birds with one stone mean?
- Kill two birds with one stone means to solve two problems with one single action.
- What is kill two birds with one stone in Hindi?
- Kill two birds with one stone in Hindi is एक पंथ दो काज (ek panth do kāj). See Kill two birds with one stone meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is kill two birds with one stone?
- Kill two birds with one stone is a verb.
- What is the past tense of kill two birds with one stone?
- The past tense of kill two birds with one stone is killed two birds with one stone.
Words near kill two birds with one stone in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: kill two birds with one stone (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-kill two birds with one stone.ogg.
Cite this entry: “kill two birds with one stone.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kill_two_birds_with_one_stone. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.