butcher

butch-er · noun, verb

imported

Definitions

noun, verb

  1. 1.

    A person whose trade is cutting up and selling meat.

  2. 2.

    To slaughter or cut up (an animal) for meat.

  3. 3.

    A person who slaughters animals for food.

  4. 4.

    To kill (people) brutally or in large numbers.

  5. 5.

    A person who kills brutally or indiscriminately.

  6. 6.

    [informal]To ruin or spoil something through incompetence.

Forms

plural: butchers

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    butcher's (shop) — A shop where meat is sold.
  • •
    have a butcher's — (British slang) To have a look (from Cockney rhyming slang: "butcher's hook" = look).

Related words

See also: baker, grocer, meat, slaughter
Synonyms: meat cutter, slaughterer

Etymology

From Old French bouchier, from bouc ("he-goat"), from Frankish bukk. Originally meant one who slaughters and sells goats. First attested in the 13th century.