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 ˈbu̇-chə-riŋ 

ˈbu̇ch-

transitive verb

1

: to slaughter and dress for market

butcher hogs

2

: to kill in a barbarous manner

3

: botch

butchered the play

Synonyms of butcher

Noun

• blunderer
• incompetent

Verb

• 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

One of those students, Aaron Chin, revealed himself as one of the butchers on a podcast a few months after the incident. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026

The two were fighting over a knife the teen was holding, which appeared to be a 5-inch butcher's knife, Bradshaw said. — Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026

Verb

After tending to the animals, they’re taken to Kalapooia Valley Grass Fed Processing, which Anderson runs, allowing the operation to go from birth to butcher under his supervision. — Esha Chhabra, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Being completely immobilized and nearly butchered by Jean could easily lead to a lifelong hatred of mutantkind. — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 31 July 2026

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 2

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