butchery

[booch-uh-ree]

noun

plural

butcheries 

1. a slaughterhouse.

2. brutal or wanton slaughter of animals or humans; carnage.

3. the trade or business of a butcher. butcher.

4. the act of bungling or botching.

butchery

/ ˈbʊtʃərɪ /

noun

1. the business or work of a butcher

2. wanton and indiscriminate slaughter; carnage

3. a less common word for slaughterhouse

Word History and Origins

Origin of butchery¹

1300–50; Middle English bocherie < Anglo-French, Middle French boucherie. See butcher, -y ³

Example Sentences

After always working for other people in the butchery industry, Mr Field, 47, thought he would try and go it alone and run his own shop after an opportunity arose.

From BBC

The building’s large main kitchen accommodates multiple classes, among them production baking and butchery.

From Los Angeles Times

Like many a movie serial killer, Tucker isn’t just interested in murdering his prey — he wants to make something artistic out of his butchery.

From Los Angeles Times

A member of the public had told the authority of their concerns and environmental health officers found rat droppings in "all food handling and storage areas, particularly in the butchery and basement".

From BBC

Encountering “Macbeth” during a time when the federal government appears to be under attack from within, I watched with heightened horror Macbeth’s descent into paranoid butchery after he murders Duncan and assumes the throne.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bloodbath 
• bloodletting 
• carnage