1
: the act of killing
specifically
: the butchering of livestock for market
2
: killing of great numbers of human beings (as in battle or a massacre) : carnage
slaughtered; slaughtering; slaughters
1
: to kill (animals) for food : butcher
3
: to discredit, defeat, or demolish completely
Examples of slaughter in a Sentence
Noun
the slaughter of innocent people
all civilized nations should protest this senseless slaughter
Verb
Our team got slaughtered yesterday.
modern poultry farms slaughter a vast number of chickens every day
Recent Examples on the Web
Kc Baker, People.com, 20 June 2025
Sequences of compliant sheep, moving to their mechanized slaughter, sometimes cut to scenes of streetwise children, repurposing rubble for games.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 27 June 2025
An Orthodox priest in Bucha named Andriy welcomed us to his church, which was bombed by Russia and sits on a mass burial site filled with the bodies of innocent civilians slaughtered by the Russians who occupied the city for a month in 2022.
—Laura Thornton, Twin Cities, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for slaughter
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Noun
They were all robbed, of very little money, and in three instances, their homes were set ablaze to hide evidence of the slaughter that had taken place inside, authorities said.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 20 June 2025
Sequences of compliant sheep, moving to their mechanized slaughter, sometimes cut to scenes of streetwise children, repurposing rubble for games.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 14 June 2025
Verb
While the majority of the rebel players are slaughtered on sight, Gi-hun is spared and placed back in the central common room.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 27 June 2025
An Orthodox priest in Bucha named Andriy welcomed us to his church, which was bombed by Russia and sits on a mass burial site filled with the bodies of innocent civilians slaughtered by the Russians who occupied the city for a month in 2022.
—Laura Thornton, Twin Cities, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for slaughter
Cite this Entry
“Slaughter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slaughter. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
slaughter
1 of 2 noun
slaugh·ter
ˈslȯt-ər 
1
: the act of killing
especially
: the butchering of livestock for market
2
: destruction of human lives in large numbers (as in war or a massacre)
slaughter
2 of 2 verbLove words? Need even more definitions?
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