1
: the act of killing
specifically
: the butchering of livestock for market
2
: killing of great numbers of human beings (as in battle or a massacre) : carnage
slaughtered; slaughtering; slaughters
1
: to kill (animals) for food : butcher
3
: to discredit, defeat, or demolish completely
Synonyms
Examples of slaughter in a Sentence
Noun
the slaughter of innocent people
all civilized nations should protest this senseless slaughter
Verb
Our team got slaughtered yesterday.
modern poultry farms slaughter a vast number of chickens every day
Recent Examples on the Web
Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 1 June 2024
In the same vein the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians in Gaza is a war crime that sits at the feet of Benjamin Netanyahu.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 29 May 2024
Helen Branswell, STAT, 22 May 2024
In one randomized study, researchers found that 12 percent of chickens slaughtered on farms harbored Campylobacter bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning.
—Linda Qiu, New York Times, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for slaughter 
Noun
The next year, the association faced more anger and eventually withdrew an award for a novel widely criticized for its sympathetic portrait of a cavalry officer who participated in the slaughter of Lakota Indians at the Battle of Wounded Knee.
—Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 1 June 2024
In the same vein the slaughter of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians in Gaza is a war crime that sits at the feet of Benjamin Netanyahu.
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 29 May 2024
Verb
In such cases, farmers may decide to send cows like these to slaughter earlier than otherwise would have been the case, getting fewer years of production out of these animals.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 22 May 2024
In one randomized study, researchers found that 12 percent of chickens slaughtered on farms harbored Campylobacter bacteria, a common cause of food poisoning.
—Linda Qiu, New York Times, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for slaughter
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slaughter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near slaughter
Cite this Entry
“Slaughter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slaughter. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
slaughter
1 of 2 noun
slaugh·ter
ˈslȯt-ər 
1
: the act of killing
especially
: the butchering of livestock for market
2
: destruction of human lives in large numbers (as in war or a massacre)
slaughter
2 of 2 verbLove words? Need even more definitions?
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