slaughter

¹ American  

[slaw-ter] / ˈslɔ tər /

noun

1. the killing or butchering of cattle, sheep, etc., especially for food.

2. the brutal or violent killing of a person.

   Synonyms:

   murder

3. the killing of great numbers of people or animals indiscriminately; carnage.

   the slaughter of war.

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verb (used with object)

1. to kill or butcher (animals), especially for food.

2. to kill in a brutal or violent manner.

3. to slay in great numbers; massacre.

4. Informal.  to defeat thoroughly; trounce.

   They slaughtered our team.

Slaughter ² American  

[slaw-ter] / ˈslɔ tər /

noun

1. Frank, 1908–2001, U.S. novelist and physician.

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slaughter British  

/ ˈslɔːtə /

noun

1. the killing of animals, esp for food

2. the savage killing of a person

3. the indiscriminate or brutal killing of large numbers of people, as in war; massacre

4. informal  a resounding defeat

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verb

1. to kill (animals), esp for food

2. to kill in a brutal manner

3. to kill indiscriminately or in large numbers

4. informal  to defeat resoundingly

slaughter Idioms  

1. see like a lamb to the slaughter.

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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

As Mr. Hart points out, this “mechanical slaughter” anticipated others during World War I. Men who were ambitious young officers during the Sudan operations subsequently reached high command during the “Great War.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The department said "the two suspect cases were detected as a result of surveillance at slaughter" and added that both "cases displayed no clinical signs prior to slaughter".

From BBC

Livestock farmers are also demanding compensation following the loss of over 400,000 sheep and goats to the sheep pox outbreak, all slaughtered to stop the disease.

From Barron's

"Frankly, it was lambs to the slaughter and it's hard to blame any of those Welsh players."

From BBC

A general licence is available that allows animals to cross the boundary if they are going directly to slaughter.

From BBC

Related Words

• butcher
• crush
• decimate
• destroy
• liquidate
• maim
• massacre
• murder
• mutilate
• rout
• slay
• torture
• wipe out