butchery
Americannoun
plural
butcheries-
a slaughterhouse.
-
brutal or wanton slaughter of animals or humans; carnage.
-
the trade or business of a butcher.
-
the act of bungling or botching.
noun
-
the business or work of a butcher
-
wanton and indiscriminate slaughter; carnage
-
a less common word for slaughterhouse
Etymology
Origin of butchery
1300–50; Middle English bocherie < Anglo-French, Middle French boucherie. See butcher, -y 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kakuta's restaurant has its own butchery, supplying bear meat dishes to a nearby hotel.
From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025
The butchery signal is clear as well:"At Namorotukunan, cutmarks link stone tools to meat eating, revealing a broadened diet that endured across changing landscapes," said Frances Forrest at Fairfield University.
From Science Daily • Nov. 4, 2025
The building’s large main kitchen accommodates multiple classes, among them production baking and butchery.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2025
It was there that I came to see the possibilities in a robust whole-animal butchery program and a more radical approach to sourcing ingredients.
From Salon • Feb. 4, 2025
That butchery business was long ago; surely by now the sharks would be out of the habit of congregating here.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.