abattoir
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of abattoir
1810–20; < French, equivalent to abatt ( re ) to slaughter ( see abate) + -oir -ory 2
Explanation
An abattoir is a slaughterhouse, or a place where animals are killed. It's not a word you're likely to hear or use unless you're involved in these activities. However, break abattoir into its component parts, abate + -ory, and things get a lot more interesting. -Ory is simple: it means "a place for," as in factory, laboratory, and even auditorium. Abate is more complex. Today it means "to lessen," but back when it came to English via the Old French abattre, it meant "to beat down," a meaning Old French had inherited from the Latin ad ("to") + battere ("beat"). So when you think of abattoir, you can think of the idea of "a beating," or an animal's life "abating" until it is gone.
Vocabulary lists containing abattoir
"The Briefcase," Vocabulary from the short story
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Kaffir Boy
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Sapiens
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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.
And, just incidentally, are all high-profile investigations of the future destined to be fodder for the kind of intrusive online “detectives” who were drawn to the city of Moscow like flies to an abattoir?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
In addition to raising the animal, 700 liters to 1,000 liters of water is used per animal in the abattoir for washing and hygiene.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2023
At other times, he earned a living by picking grapes, pushing sheep up kill runs at an abattoir and metalworking at a foundry.
From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2022
Dekker Curry worked in an abattoir, Derek Heasley was a fireman, while Kyle McCallan was fresh out of university and selling used cars.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2022
And then there was the blood from “Mr. Green,” the local abattoir on First Avenue.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
