butcher

1 of 2

noun

butch·​er ˈbu̇-chər 

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 ˈbu̇ch-riŋ 

ˈbu̇-chə-

transitive verb

1

: to slaughter and dress for market

butcher hogs

2

: to kill in a barbarous manner

3

: botch

butchered the play

Synonyms

Noun

• blunderbuss
• blunderer
• botcher
• bumbler
• bungler
• fumbler
• screwup

Verb

• massacre
• mow (down)
• slaughter

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

Noun

With time, she’s gotten better at sourcing from local stores, like a butcher shop and delivery service for fish. —Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 15 July 2024

His grandfather, who migrated from Tunisia to Belleville in 1956, opened the butcher shop just outside the subway station by a busy street corner where young men now hawk black-market cartons of cigarettes for cash. —Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2024

Verb

The couple sold bread from their home during the pandemic and opened the bakery last year, where loaves, pastries and sandwiches — often stuffed with meats that Rick butchered and prepared in-house — fly off the shelves. —Anna Spiegel, Axios, 11 July 2024

Black with bright yellow legs, the flying insect would hover at the hive entrance, capture a flying honeybee and butcher it before darting off with the bee’s thorax, the meatiest bit. —Hannah Hoag, USA TODAY, 28 May 2024

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

Phrases Containing butcher

• butcher-bird
• butcher block
• butcher paper
• have/take a butcher's

Kids Definition

butcher

1 of 2 noun

butch·​er ˈbu̇ch-ər 

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 

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