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definitions

slaughter

[slaw-ter]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slaughter ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the killing or butchering of cattle, sheep, etc., especially for food.
the brutal or violent killing of a person.
the killing of great numbers of people or animals indiscriminately; carnage: the slaughter of war.

verb (used with object)

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RELATED WORDS

murder, liquidation, massacre, extermination, annihilation, bloodbath, destruction, butchery, carnage, bloodshed, torture, slay, liquidate, rout, butcher, crush, decimate, maim, destroy, mutilate

Nearby words

  1. slatted,
  2. slattern,
  3. slatternly,
  4. slatting,
  5. slaty,
  6. slaughterhouse,
  7. slaughterman,
  8. slaughterous,
  9. slaughterously,
  10. slav

Origin of slaughter

1250–1300; Middle English slaghter, slahter, slauther (noun) < Old Norse slātr, earlier slāttr, slahtr
SYNONYMS FOR slaughter
2. murder. 4–6. 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.
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slaughter ON THESAURUS.COM
Related formsslaugh·ter·er, nounslaugh·ter·ing·ly, adverbun·slaugh·tered, adjective

Slaughter

[slaw-ter]

noun

Frank,1908–2001, U.S. novelist and physician.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for slaughter

British Dictionary definitions for slaughter

slaughter

noun

the killing of animals, esp for food
the savage killing of a person
the indiscriminate or brutal killing of large numbers of people, as in war; massacre
informal a resounding defeat

verb (tr)

to kill (animals), esp for food
to kill in a brutal manner
to kill indiscriminately or in large numbers
informal to defeat resoundingly
Derived Formsslaughterer, nounslaughterous, adjective

Word Origin for slaughter

Old English sleaht; related to Old Norse slāttar hammering, slātr butchered meat, Old High German slahta, Gothic slauhts, German Schlacht battle
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
Word Origin and History for slaughter
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with slaughter

slaughter

see like a lamb to the slaughter.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.