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butcher 1 of 2

noun

ˈbu̇-chər How to pronounce butcher (audio)
Definition of butchernext
as in blunderer
someone who bungles an effort the newest intern on the campaign is a butcher when it comes to writing press releases

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

butcher

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to slaughter
to kill on a large scale the barbarians butchered the monks in the monasteries without mercy

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2
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way the new piano student butchered the sonatina

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of butcher
Noun
Durant's Steakhouse At Durant’s Steakhouse in Phoenix, the Chef’s Cut Hanging Bacon at Durant’s begins with premium, generously thick cut Colorado Farms bacon, hand cut each day by master butchers. — Aly Walansky, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 It was constructed in 1897 as part of the area’s military campus, and over time was used as an army depot, a butcher shop, an animal-feed store and a mailroom. — John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026
Verb
Elephants are widely adored by many people today — but a recent study suggests early humans were butchering them for survival nearly 2 million years ago. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2026 With more than 3 billion users, WhatsApp is among the largest areas of scam activity, like wire transfers and pig butchering scams. — Stevie Bonifield, The Verge, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for butcher
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butcher
  1. incompetent
  2. slaughter
  3. fumble
  4. blow
  5. murder
  6. dub
  7. mangle
  8. ruin
Noun
  • The Dodgers reached the pinnacle honestly, in a capitalistic structure that properly hands no favors to the incompetent.
    — Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Jan. 2026
Definition of incompetent
Verb
  • Every year, live chickens are confined and slaughtered at makeshift sites on Brooklyn streets and sidewalks.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 20 Sep. 2026
  • In the present, Kirk has to stop Reeger from wholesale slaughtering an entire planet, which involves beaming into the bowels of the ship to sabotage the ship’s phaser banks.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of slaughter
Verb
  • The Wildcats opened the game with a goal-line stand, but Chiles fumbled the snap on their first offensive play and Rolijah Hardy tackled him in the end zone for a safety.
    — Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 26 Sep. 2026
  • But Rattler fumbled right before crossing the goal line, turning the ball over.
    — Joel Beers, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of fumble
Verb
  • The one in the middle is blowing a bubble, with her legs stretched out and propped up on the chair of the girl in front of her.
    — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026
  • But San Diego then blew the game open in the seventh, chasing Glasnow and scoring three times off reliever Justin Wrobleski on run-scoring singles by Austin Hays, Salas and Tatis.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • Ella Beatty plays Lizzie — a woman who was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with a hatchet in 1892 but was found not guilty.
    — Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2026
  • An Illinois judge found Corie Walsh too dangerous to release after prosecutors alleged the Frankfort mother posed a threat to her husband and three surviving children after she was charged with murdering her 2-year-old son, Barrett.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of murder
Verb
  • Waymo also recently launched its newest vehicle, a blue van dubbed the Ojai.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
  • The impact area has been dubbed McGetchin Crater, after former Lunar Science Institute director Tom McGetchin, who died in 1979.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of dub
Verb
  • Photos showed his paws mangled and covered with open red sores.
    — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Machines meant to begin giving the shells perfectly smooth noses would, instead, mangle them into swirls that looked like soft-serve ice cream.
    — ProPublica, ProPublica, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of mangle
Verb
  • Before the attack, millions of books a year were printed in this space, where there’s now nothing but piles of swollen book stock, ruined after firefighters put out the blaze.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026
  • But Timothy Leary’s version became the dominant idea of psychedelics, and when President Ronald Reagan’s War on Drugs began, psychedelics were vilified as the gateway to ruin.
    — Claire Hoffman, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of ruin

Browse Nearby Words

butch
butcher
butchered
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Cite this Entry

“Butcher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butcher. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

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