slaughter

¹

[slaw-ter]

noun

1. the killing or butchering of cattle, sheep, etc., especially for food.

2. the brutal or violent killing of a person.

   Synonyms: murder

3. the killing of great numbers of people or animals indiscriminately; carnage.

   the slaughter of war.

verb (used with object)

1. to kill or butcher (animals), especially for food.

2. to kill in a brutal or violent manner.

3. to slay in great numbers; massacre.

4. Informal.,  to defeat thoroughly; trounce.

   They slaughtered our team.

Slaughter

²

[slaw-ter]

noun

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

slaughter

/ ˈslɔːtə /

noun

1. the killing of animals, esp for food

2. the savage killing of a person

3. the indiscriminate or brutal killing of large numbers of people, as in war; massacre

4. informal,  a resounding defeat

verb

1. to kill (animals), esp for food

2. to kill in a brutal manner

3. to kill indiscriminately or in large numbers

4. informal,  to defeat resoundingly

Other Word Forms

• slaughterer noun
• slaughteringly adverb
• unslaughtered adjective
• slaughterous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slaughter¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English slaghter, slahter, slauther (noun), from Old Norse slātr, earlier slāttr, slahtr

Word History and Origins

Origin of slaughter¹

Old English sleaht; related to Old Norse slāttar hammering, slātr butchered meat, Old High German slahta, Gothic slauhts, German Schlacht battle

Idioms and Phrases

see like a lamb to the slaughter.

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

In his latest, Danielewski serves up a tale of the Old West, in which two Utah brothers embark on a quest to save two horses from slaughter.

From Los Angeles Times

“This is a time right now that Jews are being killed and slaughtered on the street and threats are happening,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

One Lancashire Police officer described how organised crime gangs "scope out" farms before stealing from them while sheep have been "slaughtered" at the side of the road.

From BBC

After those two atomic bombs leveled Hiroshima and Nagasaki, slaughtering up to 210,000 people, the vast majority citizens by deliberate design, most Americans responded with relief.

From Salon

“We can’t show a crazy amount of slaughter on TV — we do in the show, later on there are some pretty brutal scenes. But there’s still a certain amount of containment.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• butcher 
• crush 
• decimate 
• destroy 
• liquidate 
• maim 
• massacre 
• murder 
• mutilate 
• rout 
• slay 
• torture 
• wipe out