butcher

1 of 2

noun

butch·​er ˈbu̇-chər How to pronounce butcher (audio)
1
a
: a person who slaughters animals or dresses their flesh
b
: a dealer in meat
2
: one that kills ruthlessly or brutally
3
: one that bungles or botches
4
: a vendor especially on trains or in theaters

butcher

2 of 2

verb

butchered; butchering ˈbu̇-chə-riŋ How to pronounce butcher (audio)
ˈbu̇ch-

transitive verb

1
: to slaughter and dress for market
butcher hogs
2
: to kill in a barbarous manner
3
: botch
butchered the play

Examples of butcher in a Sentence

Noun the newest intern on the campaign is a butcher when it comes to writing press releases Verb They've hired someone to butcher the hogs. Many innocent people were butchered under his regime. The band has butchered my favorite song.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The water in the butcher section handwashing sink did not get hot enough. Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2025 This aunt would look into the ball and see the face of some distant relative, and then announce that the family would be having an unexpected visitor, before dispatching someone to the butcher’s to buy the very best pork chops for the occasion. Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Verb
Bad books have been made into great movies, and many great books have been butchered on the screen. Susan Orlean, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2025 Multiple other locations in central Italy have butchered elephant remains, small stone tools, and larger modified bones. Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 8 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for butcher

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bocher, from Anglo-French, from buc he-goat, probably of Celtic origin; akin to Middle Irish bocc he-goat — more at buck entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1562, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of butcher was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Butcher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/butcher. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

butcher

1 of 2 noun
butch·​er ˈbu̇ch-ər How to pronounce butcher (audio)
1
a
: one whose business is killing animals for sale as food
b
: a dealer in meat
2
: a person who kills in large numbers or in a brutal manner

butcher

2 of 2 verb
butchered; butchering -(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce butcher (audio)
1
: to slaughter and prepare for market
butcher hogs
2
: to kill in a barbarous manner : massacre
3
: to make a mess of : botch
butchered the performance

More from Merriam-Webster on butcher

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!