Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Wanton or cruel killing; carnage.
  • noun Something botched; a bungle.
  • noun The trade of a butcher.
  • noun Chiefly British A slaughterhouse.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Slaughter; the act or business of slaughtering cattle.
  • noun The killing of a human being, especially in a barbarous manner; also, the killing of a large number, as in battle; great slaughter.
  • noun The place where animals are killed for market; a shambles or slaughter-house; hence, a place where blood is shed.
  • noun Synonyms Carnage, etc. See massacre.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete The business of a butcher.
  • noun Murder or manslaughter, esp. when committed with unusual barbarity; great or cruel slaughter.
  • noun obsolete A slaughterhouse; the shambles; a place where blood is shed.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The cruel, ruthless killings of humans, as at a slaughterhouse.
  • noun rare An abattoir, a slaughterhouse.
  • noun The butchering of meat.
  • noun A disastrous effort, an atrocious failure.
  • noun slang The stereotypical behaviors and accouterments of being a butch lesbian.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the business of a butcher
  • noun the savage and excessive killing of many people
  • noun a building where animals are butchered

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

butcher +‎ -y

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word butchery.

Examples

  • Second, the butchery is by no means confined to Chihuahua, but occurs nationwide.

    Letters to the Editor 2010

  • Second, the butchery is by no means confined to Chihuahua, but occurs nationwide.

    Letters to the Editor 2010

  • Second, the butchery is by no means confined to Chihuahua, but occurs nationwide.

    Letters to the Editor 2010

  • Second, the butchery is by no means confined to Chihuahua, but occurs nationwide.

    Letters to the Editor 2010

  • Having already established that our Spartan heroes kill pretty much anything that comes within screaming distance, the industrial music cranks up while we watch as Greek butchery is taken to a visual level hitherto unseen: Asian and Middle Eastern baddies carved up like Easter hams.

    Top 10 Movie Montages » Scene-Stealers 2009

  • And on a broader front, as reported in The New Yorker and The New Republic, Al Qaeda's wanton butchery is facing an intellectual challenge from within its own ranks.

    Progress in Iraq…and What To Do About It - Swampland - TIME.com 2008

  • Fearnley-Whittingstall’s occasional efforts to explain butchery, like boning a leg of lamb (encouraging his readers not to bother with a professional but to do the 'hatchet job yourself — it’s quite easy to improvise'), reveal a tolerance for chaos ( 'It’s a bit tricky to explain') that may be without precedent among people who make

    An Amazon.com Books Blog featuring news, reviews, interviews and guest author blogs. 2008

  • Bernard Vandaele (KULeuven) and by Kerim Altu (Istanbul University) supervised the northern excavations, first focusing on the space just north of the unexcavated structure we tentatively identified as a butchery (see introduction).

    Interactive Dig Sagalassos 2003 - Lower Agora Report 3 2003

  • Broomfield City Council on May 26 unanimously approved a proposed plan to give tax incentives to the butchery, which is slated to move from Boulder in July and open in Broomfield in early August.

    The Denver Newspaper Agency YourHub.com Stories Kathryn Richert 2009

  • I liked Willy Wonka even when shitloads of people called it a "butchery" and I'm waiting to watch his version of Alice in Wonderland.

    Dlisted - Be Very Afraid 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • This word was used in the movie "Alexander" when the historian was talking about the battle in India.

    June 13, 2012