the killing or butchering of cattle, sheep, etc., especially for food.
the brutal or violent killing of a person.
the killing of great numbers of people or animals indiscriminately; carnage.
the slaughter of war.
to kill or butcher (animals), especially for food.
to kill in a brutal or violent manner.
to slay in great numbers; massacre.
Informal. to defeat thoroughly; trounce.
They slaughtered our team.
the killing of animals, esp for food
the savage killing of a person
the indiscriminate or brutal killing of large numbers of people, as in war; massacre
informal a resounding defeat
to kill (animals), esp for food
to kill in a brutal manner
to kill indiscriminately or in large numbers
informal to defeat resoundingly
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.
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English slaghter, slahter, slauther (noun), from Old Norse slātr, earlier slāttr, slahtr
Slaughter refers to the killing of large numbers of animals or people. When cattle are old enough, they're sent to slaughter and their meat is processed and shipped to stores. The noun slaughter was first used in the 1300s and comes from the Old Norse word slahtr, which also described the mass killing of animals or people. A verb form came along later, in the 1530s. You might hear slaughter used to describe the killing of large numbers of people in a war, a genocide, or a massacre. It also can be used figuratively to describe a crushing defeat, like the slaughter of your basketball team by your bitter rivals.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He fired FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, even though he had no legal grounds to do so.
From Salon • Jul. 9, 2026
Slaughter sued, and a district judge ordered she should be reinstated.
From Salon • Jul. 9, 2026
Shugerman: Let’s give partial credit to Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett, who get the history spectacularly wrong in Slaughter but have the goods on this.
From Slate • Jul. 6, 2026
That principle, the majority reasoned, justified an exception to the constitutional rule just announced in Slaughter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026
“And what kind of a name is Nobody?” asked Mother Slaughter, scandalized.
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
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.
