butcher

The word “butcher” means a person whose trade is preparing and selling meat. In plain terms, someone who cuts and sells meat for a living, or (figuratively) to ruin something badly or kill without mercy.

“Butcher” is pronounced BUUT-shuh (/ˈbʊt͡ʃɚ/ in IPA).

Here is “butcher” used in a sentence: “I bought the lamb chops from the butcher on the corner.”

Words with a similar meaning to “butcher” include flesher and slayer.

Depending on how it is used, “butcher” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “butcher” comes from Old French. From Old French bouchier, "goat slaughterer," from bouc ("goat"), tracing back to a Germanic word for a male goat — the same root as the English word "buck.".

“Butcher” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Butcher” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a person whose trade is preparing and selling meat.

A butcher, as a noun, is a person whose trade is preparing and selling meat, a respected skilled profession. Used as a verb outside that trade, "to butcher" something means to ruin or botch it badly, a figurative extension with a negative connotation unrelated to the actual craft.

"Butcher" can describe someone who kills brutally or without mercy, extending the literal meat-cutting trade into a harsh metaphor for extreme violence. This sense is figurative and carries strong negative judgment, distinct from the neutral professional meaning.

As a verb, "to butcher" literally means to slaughter animals and cut up the meat for sale, a standard part of food preparation. Figuratively, it means to ruin or botch something badly, as in "he butchered the presentation," with no literal violence involved.