butcher
noun
a retail or wholesale dealer in meat.
were butchering
-
past progressiveof butcher.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It all started by accident, he suggests, as early hominins unintentionally left marks on bones while they were butchering animal carcasses.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 23, 2021
Animal bones from that time have a relatively high number of cut marks, suggesting they were butchering for every last edible bit.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 13, 2018
Signs of burns and cut marks on the rat bones suggested humans were butchering the rats and cooking them for food.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 16, 2015
Others were butchering the fairest and fattest pig in our drove, and doing the same by a lamb.
From Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2) or Settler and Maori in Northern New Zealand by William Delisle Hay
In the center of the valley they saw their bunch of steers close herded by several cowboys, while not far away two men were butchering one of the steers.
From Ted Strong in Montana With Lariat and Spur by Edward C. Taylor
