From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishkiller instinctkiller instincta very strong desire to succeed in a situation or activity etc that is very competitive Young players these days lack the killer instinct. → killer
Examples from the Corpus
killer instinct• On politics, it has none of the Washington Post's killer instincts.• Our firm nurtures the killer instinct.• This team is still trying to find a killer instinct.• A killer instinct required to spoil a tearful bon voyage party for a beloved figure.• The rest of the first-half saw Rangers produce several good moves, but the killer instinct was lacking. 