butcher

American  

[booch-er] / ˈbʊtʃ ər /

noun

1. a retail or wholesale dealer in meat.

2. a person who slaughters certain animals, or who dresses the flesh of animals, fish, or poultry, for food or market.

3. a person guilty of brutal or indiscriminate slaughter or murder.

   Synonyms:

   cutthroat, killer

4. a vendor who hawks newspapers, candy, beverages, etc., as on a train, at a stadium, etc.

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verb (used with object)

1. to slaughter or dress (animals, fish, or poultry) for market.

2. to kill indiscriminately or brutally.

3. to bungle; botch.

   to butcher a job.

butcher British  

/ ˈbʊtʃə /

noun

1. a retailer of meat

2. a person who slaughters or dresses meat for market

3. an indiscriminate or brutal murderer

4. a person who destroys, ruins, or bungles something

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verb

1. to slaughter or dress (animals) for meat

2. to kill indiscriminately or brutally

3. to make a mess of; botch; ruin

Related Words

See slaughter.

Other Word Forms

• butcherer noun
• unbutchered adjective

Etymology

Origin of butcher

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English bocher, from Anglo-French; Old French bo(u)chier, equivalent to bo(u)c “he-goat” (from unattested Gaulish bucco-; compare Old Irish boc, Welsh bwch; akin to buck ¹ ) + -ier -ier ² ( -er ² )

Explanation

The person whose job it is to cut up and sell meat is called a butcher. Your grandmother might go to the butcher once a week to buy pork chops. A butcher is an expert at preparing cuts of meat and poultry in a butcher shop or the meat section of a supermarket. You can also call a person whose job is slaughtering farm animals a butcher. Because this is a fairly bloody, gory occupation, the word is also used to mean a cruel, ruthless murderer. And when you really mess something up, you can also be said to butcher it — like the way you butchered that poem when you tried to recite it from memory.

Example Sentences

José Rodríguez, a pork butcher who has a stall in the market, said that retail prices had remained steady since the crisis began.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

Gil was pouring money into the renovation, into things he probably shouldn’t have, putting extra-nice butcher block in the bathrooms.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

On a recent wintry night, Nodler was excited to spot two familiar guests at a table enjoying chicken schnitzel and homemade milk bread: the butcher shop owner and town locksmith.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

Meyer Levinson-Blount’s “Butcher’s Stain,” centered on a flimsy accusation against a friendly Palestinian butcher in an Israeli market, undercuts its gripping story with lackadaisical filmmaking and an unnecessary subplot, but lead Omar Sameer is commanding.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

“Have you heard who’s behind it, Malcolm?” asked Mr. Partridge, the butcher.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

Related Words

• slaughter