51³Ô¹Ï

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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: ,
  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

/ ˈ²úÊŠ³Ùʃə /

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

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to slaughter or dress (animals) for meat

  2. to kill indiscriminately or brutally

  3. to make a mess of; botch; ruin

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other 51³Ô¹Ï Forms

  • butcherer noun
  • unbutchered adjective
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51³Ô¹Ï 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 )
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51³Ô¹Ï 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
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"He butchered me, there is no other word for it."

From

Frankly, the film has so little on its mind in general that if a butcher’s cleaver slammed through its skull, it would strike cotton candy instead of gray matter.

From

A company that ran a hazard-strewn butchers shop, where council inspectors found walls stained with blood and pools of blood on the floor, has been fined more than £58,000.

From

"I'll be buying from my local butchers who knows the local farmers and which herds the beef comes from," said one.

From

The title character in Whatever Happened to Phoebe Salt? dreams of swapping the grind of her butcher's job for a life in showbusiness.

From

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butchbutcherbird