— slaughterer , n. — slaughteringly , adv.
/slaw"teuhr/ , 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.
4. to kill or butcher (animals), esp. for food.
5. to kill in a brutal or violent manner.
6. to slay in great numbers; massacre.
7. Informal. to defeat thoroughly; trounce: They slaughtered our team.
[ 1250-1300; ME slaghter, slahter, slauther (n.) slatr, earlier slattr, slahtr ]
Syn. 2. murder. 4-6 . 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.