slaughter
1 Americannoun
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the killing or butchering of cattle, sheep, etc., especially for food.
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the brutal or violent killing of a person.
- Synonyms:
- murder
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the killing of great numbers of people or animals indiscriminately; carnage.
the slaughter of war.
verb (used with object)
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to kill or butcher (animals), especially for food.
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to kill in a brutal or violent manner.
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to slay in great numbers; massacre.
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Informal. to defeat thoroughly; trounce.
They slaughtered our team.
noun
noun
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the killing of animals, esp for food
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the savage killing of a person
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the indiscriminate or brutal killing of large numbers of people, as in war; massacre
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informal a resounding defeat
verb
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to kill (animals), esp for food
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to kill in a brutal manner
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to kill indiscriminately or in large numbers
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informal to defeat resoundingly
Related Words
Slaughter, butcher, massacre all imply violent and bloody methods of killing. Slaughter and butcher, primarily referring to the killing of animals for food, are used also of the brutal or indiscriminate killing of human beings: to slaughter cattle; to butcher a hog. Massacre indicates a general slaughtering of helpless or unresisting victims: to massacre the peasants of a region.
Other Word Forms
- slaughterer noun
- slaughteringly adverb
- slaughterous adjective
- unslaughtered adjective
Etymology
Origin of slaughter
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English slaghter, slahter, slauther (noun), from Old Norse slātr, earlier slāttr, slahtr
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“You can shear a sheep for life, but you can only slaughter it once” goes an old saying that sportsbooks seem to have heeded.
Baldwin wisecracked, fully aware that he was about to be slaughtered.
From Los Angeles Times
But one senior Tory told the BBC they expected the party would be "slaughtered" in May by Reform UK.
From BBC
“If anyone does have an idea of buying it for the purpose of what it’s being marketed as, for slaughtering animals, they’ll have a large contingent of public opposition,” Williamson said.
From Los Angeles Times
When Daidai realised her father was too old to slaughter two pigs for a traditional community feast in the run-up to Chinese New Year, she turned to social media.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
