the killing or butchering of cattle, sheep, etc., especially for food.
the brutal or violent killing of a person.
the killing of great numbers of people or animals indiscriminately; carnage: the slaughter of war.
verb (used with object)
to kill or butcher (animals), especially for food.
to kill in a brutal or violent manner.
to slay in great numbers; massacre.
Informal. to defeat thoroughly; trounce: They slaughtered our team.
Origin of slaughter
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English slaghter, slahter, slauther (noun), from Old Norse slātr, earlier slāttr, slahtr
SYNONYMS FOR slaughter
2 murder.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR slaughter ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for slaughter
4-6. Slaughter,butcher,massacre all imply violent and bloody methods of killing. Slaughter and butcher, primarily referring to the killing of animals for food, are used also of the brutal or indiscriminate killing of human beings: to slaughter cattle; to butcher a hog.Massacre indicates a general slaughtering of helpless or unresisting victims: to massacre the peasants of a region.
Enraged, the meat lobby retaliated by having producers again cease sending animals to slaughter.
Why meat could be top of mind for voters in the upcoming election|jakemeth|September 5, 2020|Fortune
Today, our response to the temporary closing of slaughter plants can be a permanent opening of our dietary habits to actual plants.
Why meat could be top of mind for voters in the upcoming election|jakemeth|September 5, 2020|Fortune
After all, Faith says, massive herbivores like these rhinos were slow to breed and it wouldn’t take a “catastrophic slaughter” for humans to make a dent in the population.
Climate change probably contributed to the woolly rhino’s rapid demise|Sara Kiley Watson|August 25, 2020|Popular Science
If the outcome in certain cases is less reprehensible than outright slaughter, it is only because natural selection only sometimes works to reduce the denominator of the “fitness ratio.”
Just Because It’s Natural Doesn’t Mean It’s Good - Issue 89: The Dark Side|David P. Barash|August 19, 2020|Nautilus
Plant outbreaks gummed up the meat supply chain, creating a backlog of animals awaiting slaughter.
The logjam of cattle stuck on feedlots is beginning to clear|Tim McDonnell|July 13, 2020|Quartz
To most of the world, Bashar al-Assad is a brutal dictator, responsible for the slaughter of 100,000 or more.
Welcome to Assadville, USA|Christopher Moraff|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Getting people to pay attention to a possible new round of slaughter in the region proved difficult.
Confronting George Clooney’s Critics on South Sudan|John Avlon|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When Dan Honig was getting ready to slaughter a steer for the first time, he expected to feel devastated.
The Bioethicist Turned Butcher|Elizabeth Picciuto|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It reminded her of the slaughter that the Nazis perpetrated on her relatives in the Ukraine.
Mossad’s Greatest Female Assassin: An Excerpt From ‘Sylvia Rafael’|Ram Oren, Moti Kfir|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We became friends, and then we were actually at the Institute together when they worked on The Slaughter Rule.
Sherman Alexie on His New Film, the Redskins, and Why It's OK to Laugh at His Work|William O’Connor|August 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He usually does slaughter an ox for the dancers when the work is over.
Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa|David Livingstone
The President put this question: "On the morning of the crime did you not slaughter two sheep?"
Woman on Her Own, False Gods & The Red Robe|Eugne Brieux
He grows up to manhood like a vegetable, or like one of the lower animals that are fed and nourished for the slaughter.
Popular Education|Ira Mayhew
Slaughter succeeded him, and was duly installed as governor.
The Battle of New Orleans|Zachary F. Smith
In battle after battle for twenty years they defeated the English with slaughter.
The Glories of Ireland|Edited by Joseph Dunn and P.J. Lennox
British Dictionary definitions for slaughter
slaughter
/ (ˈslɔːtə) /
noun
the killing of animals, esp for food
the savage killing of a person
the indiscriminate or brutal killing of large numbers of people, as in war; massacre
informala resounding defeat
verb(tr)
to kill (animals), esp for food
to kill in a brutal manner
to kill indiscriminately or in large numbers
informalto defeat resoundingly
Derived forms of slaughter
slaughterer, nounslaughterous, adjective
Word Origin for slaughter
Old English sleaht; related to Old Norse slāttar hammering, slātr butchered meat, Old High German slahta, Gothic slauhts, German Schlacht battle