slaughter

verb

slaughtered; slaughtering; slaughters

transitive verb

1

: to kill (animals) for food : butcher

2

a

: to kill in a bloody or violent manner : slay

b

: to kill in large numbers : massacre

3

: to discredit, defeat, or demolish completely

slaughterer

ˈslȯ-tər-ər 

noun

Synonyms of slaughter

• massacre
• murder

Examples of slaughter in a Sentence

Our team got slaughtered yesterday.

modern poultry farms slaughter a vast number of chickens every day

Recent Examples on the Web

It’s killed and slaughtered a lot of innocent people. —NBC news, 7 June 2026

The animal was originally meant to be slaughtered for the Muslim festival of sacrifice. —ABC News, 3 June 2026

But that isn't the only animal trauma that's stuck with me through the years, a fact that I was reminded of when watching episode 4 of Dutton Ranch and listening to cows scream as they were slaughtered. —Samantha Highfill, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026

When the MPKs didn’t know the Marines’ secret code word, the Marines slaughtered them and then shrugged and walked away from all their dead bodies to stay on mission (as in, kill more Marsies). —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 29 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing slaughter

• like a lamb to the slaughter
• pre-slaughter
• self-slaughter

Rhymes for slaughter

• auteur
• blotter
• cotter
• daughter
• hotter
• mater
• otter
• plotter
• rotter
• spotter
• squatter
• totter

Kids 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 verb

1

: to kill an animal for food : butcher

2

: to kill without mercy or in large numbers : massacre

slaughterer

ˈslȯt-ər-ər 

noun