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suicide

su·i·cide [ s i sd ] (plural su·i·cides)


noun 
Definition:
 
1. killing yourself: the act of deliberately killing yourself

2. somebody who commits suicide: somebody who intentionally kills himself or herself

3. doing something against own best interests: the act of doing something that seems contrary to your own best interests and seems likely to lead to a disaster such as financial ruin or loss of position or reputation
Adopting a policy like that would be political suicide.

[Mid-17th century. < modern Latin suicidium "killing of yourself," suicida "somebody who kills himself or herself," both < Latin sui "of yourself"]
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