I. butch ‧ er 1 S3 /ˈbʊtʃə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: bouchier , from bouc 'male goat' ]
1 . [countable] someone who owns or works in a shop that sells meat
2 . the butcher’s a shop where you can buy meat
3 . [countable] someone who has killed someone else cruelly and unnecessarily, especially someone who has killed a lot of people
4 . have/take a butcher’s British English spoken informal to have a look at something
II. butcher 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to kill animals and prepare them to be used as meat
2 . to kill someone cruelly or unnecessarily, especially to kill a lot of people
3 . informal to spoil something by working carelessly:
That hairdresser really butchered my hair!