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.
to kill or butcher (animals), especially for food.
to kill in a brutal or violent manner.
to slay in great numbers; massacre.
Informal. to defeat thoroughly; trounce.
They slaughtered our team.
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
to kill (animals), esp for food
to kill in a brutal manner
to kill indiscriminately or in large numbers
informal to defeat resoundingly
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.
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English slaghter, slahter, slauther (noun), from Old Norse slātr, earlier slāttr, slahtr
Slaughter refers to the killing of large numbers of animals or people. When cattle are old enough, they're sent to slaughter and their meat is processed and shipped to stores. The noun slaughter was first used in the 1300s and comes from the Old Norse word slahtr, which also described the mass killing of animals or people. A verb form came along later, in the 1530s. You might hear slaughter used to describe the killing of large numbers of people in a war, a genocide, or a massacre. It also can be used figuratively to describe a crushing defeat, like the slaughter of your basketball team by your bitter rivals.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This meant the industry operated for decades with no rules on humane husbandry and slaughter.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
The paintings featured include scenes of unassuming houses visited by otherworldly guests, dead-eyed office workers, gravity-defying displays and lambs being led to the slaughter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
The US and Canada have a two-way cattle trade, with livestock moving across the border for slaughter, breeding and for dairy and wool purposes.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Before that, they must be brave enough not to forget the pain of losing him, a choice that eventually becomes the difference between their salvation and their slaughter.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
He didn’t even know how to slaughter a hog.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
It is, however, the one that will determine whether Slaughter is a decision about accountability or a decision about power.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Even after Slaughter, Congress could largely fix this problem by statute.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Slaughter sued, and a district judge ordered she should be reinstated.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
He fired FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, even though he had no legal grounds to do so.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
“Dr. Slaughter thinks he won’t make it. He said so this morning. Will, he just can’t die! Oh...I’ve got to tell him something. Something I can’t say with Miss Mattie Lou always in there!”
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
The company slaughters nearly 30 million hogs a year and is a major supplier of ham, bacon and other pork products to grocers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
Tyson owns chickens it slaughters for meat and pays the farmers to raise them.
From Reuters ● Mar. 24, 2023
"Jerry Lee Lewis slaughters his rivals," it said, "in a 13-song set that feels like one long convulsion".
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2022
The Vernon plant slaughters pigs and packages products such as ham and bacon.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 10, 2022
Fruit and slaughters are not usually combined, nor are gods and peasants.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
An estimated five million dogs and one million cats are captured, stolen, trafficked and slaughtered for meat in Vietnam each year, according to Humane World for Animals.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
About half of the cattle slaughtered at JBS’s Pennsylvania plant were trucked long distances, including from Iowa and Canada.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
From August 2024 to early March, more than 480,000 sheep and goats have been slaughtered because of the pandemic, mainly in central and northern Greece.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
More than 120,000 eagles were slaughtered over the course of Alaska’s bounty system alone.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2026
As superintendent of the Union Stock Yards, Sherman ruled an empire of blood that employed 25,000 men, women, and children and each year slaughtered fourteen million animals.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The red ink is mounting for companies in the business of slaughtering cattle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
“If anyone does have an idea of buying it for the purpose of what it’s being marketed as, for slaughtering animals, they’ll have a large contingent of public opposition,” Williamson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
On Wall Street, the arrival of Thanksgiving means it’s time for tax-loss harvesting, the wholesale slaughtering of the market’s worst-performing stocks.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
King Mohammed VI has asked Moroccans to abstain from performing the Muslim rite of slaughtering sheep during Eid al-Adha this year due to a sharp drop in the country's herd.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2025
My father was an unofficial priest and presided over ritual slaughtering of goats and calves and officiated at local traditional rites concerning planting, harvest, birth, marriage, initiation ceremonies, and funerals.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
