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
butchered; butchering
ˈbu̇ch-riŋ 
ˈbu̇-chə-
1
: to slaughter and dress for market
butcher hogs
2
: to kill in a barbarous manner
3
: botch
butchered the play
Synonyms
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
Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
There’s a scene in a halal butcher shop that seems to underscore the brutishness of humanity.
—Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
Ask your butcher to remove as much fat, as well as the papery membrane, as possible.
—Lucinda Scala Quinn, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
After breakfast, peruse the butcher shop and the specialty market’s aisles for dinner provisions — and make sure to grab a jar of Santhoshi’s chutney, made by local Indian chef Santhoshi Radhakrishnan.
—Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Welch said that being at Comerica Park this season feels like an extension of lunch at Marrow, the neighborhood restaurant and butcher shop in Detroit’s West Village.
—Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 27 Mar. 2024
One former employee opened a butcher shop, and others sell local pottery and textiles or heirloom tomatoes to top-tier restaurants in the capital.
—Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Mar. 2024
The origins of Unilever’s ice cream business can be traced back to the summer of 1913, when Thomas Wall started selling ice cream from his family butcher shop in London.
—Hanna Ziady, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024
The original building has been standing for more than 100 years and operated as a butcher shop that operated in a predominately Jewish community, according to the Jake's website.
—Jessica Rodriguez, Journal Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2024
Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Sharks were an important part of their diets, and after a successful hunt, the fishers would butcher bull sharks, great white sharks, sand tiger sharks and other species at Rio do Meio before transporting the meat away.
—Sarah Sloat, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
Anyone who’s butchered a deer knows that a deer’s front legs do not sport the ball-and-socket attachment of the rear legs.
—Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 28 Feb. 2024
When Bananarama butchered the tune in 1986, the lyric was corrected.
—Jim Clash, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
While many of the creations at GW Fins require butchering fish and accessing specialized equipment, such as dry-aging refrigeration, sous vides and smokers, Nelson encourages home cooks to think of fish, especially meaty species, like swordfish, as just another flavorful protein.
—Ann Maloney, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Rogers had been convicted of murdering seven women, mostly by tying them up in the woods and butchering them, and admitted to murdering an eighth.
—Matt Thompson, SPIN, 12 Mar. 2024
In any case, devotees said the movie failed to capture the series’s soul and butchered the sprawling story.
—Olivia McCormack, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024
Some animals were butchered, and those pig or chicken parts may have been food offerings.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024
Noun
Temescal’s Clove and Hoof was originally a butcher shop selling Wagyu flank and housemade sausages – focusing on whole animals that are raised sustainably – with fridges overflowing with housemade sauces and rich stocks.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
There’s a scene in a halal butcher shop that seems to underscore the brutishness of humanity.
—Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
Ask your butcher to remove as much fat, as well as the papery membrane, as possible.
—Lucinda Scala Quinn, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024
After breakfast, peruse the butcher shop and the specialty market’s aisles for dinner provisions — and make sure to grab a jar of Santhoshi’s chutney, made by local Indian chef Santhoshi Radhakrishnan.
—Melissa Oyler, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Welch said that being at Comerica Park this season feels like an extension of lunch at Marrow, the neighborhood restaurant and butcher shop in Detroit’s West Village.
—Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 27 Mar. 2024
One former employee opened a butcher shop, and others sell local pottery and textiles or heirloom tomatoes to top-tier restaurants in the capital.
—Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Mar. 2024
The origins of Unilever’s ice cream business can be traced back to the summer of 1913, when Thomas Wall started selling ice cream from his family butcher shop in London.
—Hanna Ziady, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024
The original building has been standing for more than 100 years and operated as a butcher shop that operated in a predominately Jewish community, according to the Jake's website.
—Jessica Rodriguez, Journal Sentinel, 16 Mar. 2024
Verb
After such a purchase, the goat would be butchered and the cuts of meat delivered to the buyer.
—Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Sharks were an important part of their diets, and after a successful hunt, the fishers would butcher bull sharks, great white sharks, sand tiger sharks and other species at Rio do Meio before transporting the meat away.
—Sarah Sloat, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
Anyone who’s butchered a deer knows that a deer’s front legs do not sport the ball-and-socket attachment of the rear legs.
—Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 28 Feb. 2024
When Bananarama butchered the tune in 1986, the lyric was corrected.
—Jim Clash, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
While many of the creations at GW Fins require butchering fish and accessing specialized equipment, such as dry-aging refrigeration, sous vides and smokers, Nelson encourages home cooks to think of fish, especially meaty species, like swordfish, as just another flavorful protein.
—Ann Maloney, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Rogers had been convicted of murdering seven women, mostly by tying them up in the woods and butchering them, and admitted to murdering an eighth.
—Matt Thompson, SPIN, 12 Mar. 2024
In any case, devotees said the movie failed to capture the series’s soul and butchered the sprawling story.
—Olivia McCormack, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024
Some animals were butchered, and those pig or chicken parts may have been food offerings.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'butcher.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Butcher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/butcher. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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