slaughter

[ slaw-ter ]

/ ˈslɔ tər /

SEE 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.

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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 SYNONYMS FOR slaughter ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM slaughter

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

Words nearby slaughter

slatkin, slattern, slatternly, slatting, slaty, slaughter, slaughterhouse, slaughterman, slaughterous, slav, slav.

Definition for slaughter (2 of 2)

Slaughter

[ slaw-ter ]

/ ˈslɔ tər /

noun

Frank,1908–2001, U.S. novelist and physician.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

We became friends, and then we were actually at the Institute together when they worked on The Slaughter Rule.
Sherman Alexie on His New Film, the Redskins, and Why It's OK to Laugh at His Work|William O’Connor|August 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He usually does slaughter an ox for the dancers when the work is over.
Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa|David Livingstone
The President put this question: "On the morning of the crime did you not slaughter two sheep?"
Woman on Her Own, False Gods & The Red Robe|Eugne Brieux
He grows up to manhood like a vegetable, or like one of the lower animals that are fed and nourished for the slaughter.
Popular Education|Ira Mayhew
Slaughter succeeded him, and was duly installed as governor.
The Battle of New Orleans|Zachary F. Smith
In battle after battle for twenty years they defeated the English with slaughter.
The Glories of Ireland|Edited by Joseph Dunn and P.J. Lennox

British Dictionary definitions for slaughter

slaughter

/ (ˈslɔːtə) /

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 forms of slaughter

slaughterer, 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

Idioms and Phrases with slaughter

slaughter

see like a lamb to the slaughter.

slaughter

noun

verb (used with object)

QUIZZES

Origin of slaughter

SYNONYMS FOR slaughter

OTHER WORDS FROM slaughter

Words nearby slaughter

Definition for slaughter (2 of 2)

noun

Words related to slaughter

Example sentences from the Web for slaughter

British Dictionary definitions for slaughter

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of slaughter

Word Origin for slaughter

Idioms and Phrases with slaughter