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needless slaughter


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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
slaugh•ter /ˈslɔtɚ/USA pronunciation   n. [uncountable]
  1. the killing of cattle, sheep, etc., esp. for food.
  2. a brutal or violent killing:ordered the slaughter of hundreds of civilians.

v. [~ + object]
  1. to kill or butcher (animals), esp. for food.
  2. to kill in a brutal or violent manner, or in great numbers.
slaugh•ter•er, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
slaugh•ter  (slô′tər),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. the killing or butchering of cattle, sheep, etc., esp. for food.
  2. the brutal or violent killing of a person.
  3. the killing of great numbers of people or animals indiscriminately;
    carnage:the slaughter of war.

v.t. 
  1. to kill or butcher (animals), esp. for food.
  2. to kill in a brutal or violent manner.
  3. to slay in great numbers;
    massacre.
  4. Informal Termsto defeat thoroughly;
    trounce:They slaughtered our team.
  • Old Norse slātr, earlier slāttr, slahtr
  • Middle English slaghter, slahter, slauther (noun, nominal) 1250–1300
slaugh′ter•er, n. 
slaugh′ter•ing•ly, adv. 
    • 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged murder.
    • 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged –6.
      Slaughter, butcher, massacre all imply violent and bloody methods of killing.
      Slaughter and butcher, primarily referring to the killing of animals for food, are used also of the brutal or indiscriminate killing of human beings:to slaughter cattle; to butcher a hog.Massacre indicates a general slaughtering of helpless or unresisting victims:to massacre the peasants of a region.
Slaugh•ter  (slô′tər),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Biographical Frank, born 1908, U.S. novelist and physician.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
slaughter / ˈslɔːtə/
  1. the killing of animals, esp for food
  2. the savage killing of a person
  3. the indiscriminate or brutal killing of large numbers of people, as in war; massacre
 (transitive)
  1. to kill (animals), esp for food
  2. to kill in a brutal manner
  3. to kill indiscriminately or in large numbers
  4. to defeat resoundingly
Etymology: Old English sleaht; related to Old Norse slāttar hammering, slātr butchered meat, Old High German slahta, Gothic slauhts, German Schlacht battleˈslaughtererˈslaughterous

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