butcher

UK: /ˈbʊtʃə^r/ US: /ˈbʊtʃɚ/ ,(bŏŏch′ər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

butch•er /ˈbʊtʃɚ/   n. 

[countable]
1. one who kills animals and prepares the meat for food or for market;
   one who sells meat in a shop:
   He worked as a butcher in the stockyards.
2. a person guilty of brutal murder:
   The prison commander was known as the "butcher'' because of all the executions he ordered.

v. [~ + object]

3. to slaughter (animals) and prepare the meat for market:
   He butchered the calf.
4. to kill brutally or excessively:
   He butchered thousands of civilians.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

butch•er  (bŏŏch′ər), n. 

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

v.t. 

5. to slaughter or dress (animals, fish, or poultry) for market.
6. to kill indiscriminately or brutally.
7. to bungle;
   botch:
   to butcher a job.

• Gaulish *bucco-; compare Old Irish boc, Welsh bwch; akin to buck¹) + -ier -ier² (see -er²)
• Anglo-French; Old French bo(u)chier, equivalent. to bo(u)c he-goat (
• Middle English bocher 1250–1300

butch′er•er, n. 
Synonyms

• 3. killer, cutthroat.
• 5, 6. See slaughter. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

butcher / ˈbʊtʃə/ noun

1. a retailer of meat
2. a person who slaughters or dresses meat for market
3. an indiscriminate or brutal murderer

verb (transitive)

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

Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French bouchier, from bouc he-goat, probably of Celtic origin; see buck¹; compare Welsh bwch he-goat