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slaughtered - 2 dictionary results

slaugh⋅ter

  [slaw-ter]
Use slaughtered in a Sentence
–noun
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.
–verb (used with object)
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.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME slaghter, slahter, slauther (n.) < ON slātr, earlier slāttr, slahtr

Related forms:
slaugh⋅ter⋅er, noun
slaugh⋅ter⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To slaughtered
slaugh·ter   (slô'tər)   
n.  
  1. The killing of animals especially for food.
  2. The killing of a large number of people; a massacre: "I could not give my name to aid the slaughter in this war, fought on both sides for grossly material ends" (Sylvia Pankhurst).
tr.v.   slaugh·tered, slaugh·ter·ing, slaugh·ters
  1. To kill (animals) especially for food; butcher.
    1. To kill (people) in large numbers; massacre.
    2. To kill in a violent or brutal manner.

[Middle English, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse slātr, butchery.]
slaugh'ter·er n., slaugh'ter·ous adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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