shochet

[ Sephardic Hebrew shaw-khet; Ashkenazic Hebrew shoh-kheyt, shoi-khit; English shoh-khit ]

noun

, Hebrew.

, plural shoche·tim [shoh, kh, -, teem], English sho·chets.

1. shohet.

shochet

/ ˈʃɒxɛt; ˈʃɒkɛt /

noun

1. (in Judaism) a person who has been specially trained and licensed to slaughter animals and birds in accordance with the laws of shechita

Word History and Origins

Origin of shochet¹

C19: from Hebrew, literally: slaughtering

Example Sentences

He drew me against him and angled the shochet’s knife across my throat.

From Literature

For larger animals, our community would employ the help of a shochet, who would kill the goat or cow and prepare it according to our laws.

From Literature

Adriane Shochet, 64, of Lake Worth, Fla., bought a $14 broomstick, which she attached to an American flag and waved as she stood on the causeway that overlooks part of Mar-a-Lago.

From Washington Post

The ordinarily vegetarian Nussbaum had eaten a farm-raised chicken the night before I met them, after watching the bird ritually killed in the kosher manner by a shochet.

From New York Times

A shochet, someone trained and certified to slaughter animals according to Jewish tradition, whets a knife on increasingly fine stones before drawing the blade across a fingernail to feel for any imperfections in the steel that might inhibit a smooth, clean cut and cause unnecessary pain.

From Seattle Times