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
To kill (animals) especially for food; butcher.
To kill (people) in large numbers; massacre.
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.
[slaw-ter-uh
s] 