Definition

1. Noun:
   • The carcass of an animal killed on a road by a vehicle: "Roadkill" refers specifically to the dead body of an animal that has been struck and killed by a motor vehicle on a roadway.

Usage

• The term is used as a non-count noun to describe the general phenomenon or multiple dead animals.
• It can also be used as a count noun when referring to a specific instance or carcass (e.g., "a roadkill").

Examples

• Noun (non-count):
  • The highway was littered with roadkill after the busy holiday weekend.
  • Some scavengers, like crows, rely heavily on roadkill as a food source.
• Noun (count):
  • We saw a terrible roadkill on the shoulder of the interstate.
  • Avoiding a roadkill, the driver swerved dangerously.

Advanced Usage

• Metaphorical Use: Informally, "roadkill" can describe a person or thing that has been devastated or left behind by a powerful force or competitive situation.
  • After the corporate merger, several small suppliers became roadkill.
  • His campaign was political roadkill after the scandal broke.

Variants and Related Words

• Roadkill is a closed compound word formed from "road" + "kill." There are no standard verb or adjective forms.
• Carrion (n): The decaying flesh of dead animals, which is a broader category that includes roadkill.
• Road casualty (n): A more formal or technical term sometimes used in ecology and traffic studies.

Synonyms

• Road casualty
• Highway fatality (used more for animals in formal contexts)

Idioms and Phrases

• (To be) roadkill on the information highway: An idiom from the late 20th century describing a person or company that has failed to adapt to the digital age and has been ruined by it.
  • That bookstore became roadkill on the information highway after everyone started buying books online.

Noun

1. the dead body of an animal that has been killed on a road by a vehicle
   • vultures usually feed on carrion or roadkill