butcher

[ booch-er ]

noun

1. a retail or wholesale dealer in meat.
2. a person who slaughters certain animals, or who dresses the flesh of animals, fish, or poultry, for food or market.
3. a person guilty of brutal or indiscriminate slaughter or murder.

   Synonyms: cutthroat, killer

4. a vendor who hawks newspapers, candy, beverages, etc., as on a train, at a stadium, etc.

verb (used with object)

1. to slaughter or dress (animals, fish, or poultry) for market.
2. to kill indiscriminately or brutally.
3. to bungle; botch:

   to butcher a job.

butcher

/ ˈbʊtʃə /

noun

1. a retailer of meat
2. a person who slaughters or dresses meat for market
3. an indiscriminate or brutal murderer
4. a person who destroys, ruins, or bungles something

verb

1. to slaughter or dress (animals) for meat
2. to kill indiscriminately or brutally
3. to make a mess of; botch; ruin

Other Words From

• butcher·er noun
• un·butchered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of butcher¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English bocher, from Anglo-French; Old French bo(u)chier, equivalent to bo(u)c “he-goat” (from unattested Gaulish bucco-; compare Old Irish boc, Welsh bwch; akin to buck ¹ ) + -ier -ier ² ( -er ² )

Word History and Origins

Origin of butcher¹

C13: from Old French bouchier , from bouc he-goat, probably of Celtic origin; see buck ¹; compare Welsh bwch he-goat

Synonym Study

See slaughter.

Example Sentences

Fields, nicknamed 'The Butcher', arrives wearing a butcher's apron.

From BBC

Other announced tenants are Bark Social, an off-leash membership dog park and social club, experiential art gallery Hopscotch, Mike Hess Brewing, restaurants Poppy + Rose, King and Queen Cantina, and Mario’s Neighborhood Butcher Shop & Delicatessen.

From Los Angeles Times

Born in Chingford, east London, in 1958, Di'Anno sang with numerous bands as a teenager, while working as a butcher and a chef.

From BBC

Sinwar's reputation for ruthlessness and violence earned him the nickname of The Butcher of Khan Younis.

From BBC

Richard Butcher, brother of Lois McCullough, said in a victim impact statement that his niece was "very dangerous" and that what had happened had "undermined my faith in humanity".

From BBC

Related Words

• mutilate