butcher

1 of 2

noun

butch·​er ˈbu̇-chər 

1

a

: a person who slaughters animals or dresses their flesh

b

: a dealer in meat

2

: one that kills ruthlessly or brutally

3

: one that bungles or botches

4

: a vendor especially on trains or in theaters

butcher

2 of 2

verb

butchered; butchering ˈbu̇-chə-riŋ 

ˈbu̇ch-

transitive verb

1

: to slaughter and dress for market

butcher hogs

2

: to kill in a barbarous manner

3

: botch

butchered the play

Synonyms

Noun

• blunderbuss
• blunderer
• botcher
• bumbler
• bungler
• fumbler
• screwup

Verb

• massacre
• mow (down)
• slaughter

Examples of butcher in a Sentence

Noun

the newest intern on the campaign is a butcher when it comes to writing press releases

Verb

They've hired someone to butcher the hogs.

Many innocent people were butchered under his regime.

The band has butchered my favorite song.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Denise, her sister-in-law and the child had stopped inside a butcher shop when James disappeared. —Kc Baker, People.com, 22 Mar. 2025

The unedited bodycam footage, recorded from the perspective of the officer who fired his service weapon and the bodycam of his partner, also shows Pike concealed the butcher knife with what appears to be paper or cloth on a bedside table. —Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 20 Mar. 2025

Verb

People butchered his name, called him Tar-eek or Skoo-ball. —Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

While this technically isn't actually karaoke, this scene from 27 Dresses is worth an honorable mention for the epic singalong, as Heigl's Jane and Marsden's Kevin lead the fellow patrons into belting out and butchering the lyrics of the 1973 classic. —Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bocher, from Anglo-French, from buc he-goat, probably of Celtic origin; akin to Middle Irish bocc he-goat — more at buck entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1562, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing butcher

• butcher-bird
• butcher block
• butcher paper
• have/take a butcher's

Kids Definition

butcher

1 of 2 noun

butch·​er ˈbu̇ch-ər 

1

a

: one whose business is killing animals for sale as food

b

: a dealer in meat

2

: a person who kills in large numbers or in a brutal manner

butcher

2 of 2 verb

butchered; butchering -(ə-)riŋ 

1

: to slaughter and prepare for market

butcher hogs

2

: to kill in a barbarous manner : massacre

3

: to make a mess of : botch

butchered the performance