slaughter

[slaw-ter]

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)

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.

Origin of slaughter

1250–1300; Middle English slaghter, slahter, slauther (noun) < Old Norse slātr, earlier slāttr, slahtr

Related formsslaugh·ter·er, nounslaugh·ter·ing·ly, adverbun·slaugh·tered, adjective

Synonyms for slaughter

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slaughter ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

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

Related Words for slaughter

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

Examples from the Web for slaughter

Contemporary Examples of slaughter

To most of the world, Bashar al-Assad is a brutal dictator, responsible for the slaughter of 100,000 or more.
Welcome to Assadville, USA
Christopher Moraff
November 11, 2014
Getting people to pay attention to a possible new round of slaughter in the region proved difficult.
Confronting George Clooney’s Critics on South Sudan
John Avlon
October 7, 2014
In her white prom dress, Carrie is like a lamb to the slaughter, the blood besmirching her innocence.
Sex, Blood and Maroon 5: Pop Culture’s Wounds Run Deep
Lizzie Crocker
October 3, 2014
When Dan Honig was getting ready to slaughter a steer for the first time, he expected to feel devastated.
The Bioethicist Turned Butcher
Elizabeth Picciuto
September 28, 2014
It reminded her of the slaughter that the Nazis perpetrated on her relatives in the Ukraine.
Mossad’s Greatest Female Assassin: An Excerpt From ‘Sylvia Rafael’
Ram Oren,   Moti Kfir
September 20, 2014

Historical Examples of slaughter

In the mean time, the slaughter was about to commence on the other side.
The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California
Brevet Col. J.C. Fremont
I will hunt out General O'Neill, and interview him on the field of slaughter.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
He should never have had to boast of the slaughter of our men.
Cameos from English History, from Rollo to Edward II
Charlotte Mary Yonge
That attack had been repulsed with slaughter, and the brigade was concentrated.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
We lose great battles there and Fredericksburg they say was just a slaughter of our men.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler

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

c.1300, "killing of a cattle or sheep for food, killing of a person," from a Scandinavian *slahtr, akin to Old Norse slatr "a butchering, butcher meat," slatra "to slaughter," slattr "a mowing" from Proto-Germanic *slukhtis, related to Old Norse sla "to strike" (see slay (v.)) + formative suffix (cf. laugh/laughter). Meaning "killing of a large number of persons in battle" is attested from mid-14c. Old English had slieht "stroke, slaughter, murder, death; animals for slaughter;" cf. sliehtswyn "pig for killing."

1530s, "butcher an animal for market," from slaughter (n.). Meaning "slay wantonly, ruthlessly, or in great numbers" is from 1580s. Related: Slaughtered; slaughtering.

Idioms and Phrases with slaughter

slaughter

see like a lamb to the slaughter.