/ ˈbʊtʃə(r); NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a person whose job is cutting up and selling meat in a shop / store or killing animals for this purpose
2.
butcher's ( pl. butchers ) a shop / store that sells meat :
He owns the butcher's in the main street.
3.
a person who kills people in a cruel and violent way
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IDIOMS
- have / take a butcher's
■ verb [ vn ]
1.
to kill people in a very cruel and violent way
2.
to kill animals and cut them up for use as meat
3.
( especially NAmE ) to spoil sth by doing it very badly :
The script was good, but those guys butchered it.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from an Anglo-Norman French variant of Old French bochier , from boc he-goat, probably of the same ultimate origin as the verb buck .