I know this sounds kinda morbid, but is there an english word for a list of people who are to be killed? Let's say, a hitman gets a list of targets, what would he call it? My first though was "hitlist", but I'm not really sure if this is an actual commonly used word or just a made-up term (there's a movie or something called The Hit List) that derivated from "hitman" as a synonym for "killer" ...
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I don't know, but in my imagination the assassin keeps things non-specific: "He's on my list."– user230Oct 2, 2014 at 20:29
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3I believe "hit list" would be most recognizable term.– ToryOct 2, 2014 at 20:46
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I looked 'hit list' up in two online dictionaries, including this one.– user6951Oct 3, 2014 at 4:23
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If you are writing fiction, have fun with it. The Doomed. The Damned.The Select. The Unfortunate. The Chosen Ones. My Friends The Walking Dead...– WRXJan 21, 2017 at 1:10
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2 Answers
'Hit list' is generally the colloquial term, though I've seen things like 'Kill On Sight' (KOS) list used in certain online games.
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A hit is indeed a common slang for a kill, hence the hit man and the hit list, or even take out a hit on someone. Oct 3, 2014 at 6:29
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@oerkelens I don't know about "take out a hit" but I've definitely heard "carry out a hit". Sep 16, 2020 at 2:11
"Hitlist" is probably the most commonly used word for this, but I just want to point out that there's no single definitive answer. You will end up having to make up some phrase for it, and that phrase will depend highly on context. For example, it would be quite weird to describe a list of prisoners on death row as a "hitlist," unless you were trying to make a political statement about the death penalty. For death row specifically, I might say something like "list of death row inmates."
