Dictionary.com

butcher

[ booch-er ]
/ ˈbʊtʃ ər /
Save This Word!

noun
a retail or wholesale dealer in meat.
a person who slaughters certain animals, or who dresses the flesh of animals, fish, or poultry, for food or market.
a person guilty of brutal or indiscriminate slaughter or murder.
a vendor who hawks newspapers, candy, beverages, etc., as on a train, at a stadium, etc.
verb (used with object)
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

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 buck1) + -ier-ier2 (see -er2)

synonym study for butcher

5, 6. See slaughter.

OTHER WORDS FROM butcher

butch·er·er, nounun·butch·ered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use butcher in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for butcher

butcher
/ (ˈbʊtʃə) /

noun
a retailer of meat
a person who slaughters or dresses meat for market
an indiscriminate or brutal murderer
a person who destroys, ruins, or bungles something
verb (tr)

Word Origin for butcher

C13: from Old French bouchier, from bouc he-goat, probably of Celtic origin; see buck 1; compare Welsh bwch he-goat
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK