slaughter

noun

/ˈslɔːtə(r)/

/ˈslɔːtər/

[uncountable]Idioms

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Word OriginMiddle English (as a noun): from Old Norse slátr ‘butcher's meat’; related to slay. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent.

Idioms

(like) a lamb/lambs to the slaughter

used to describe people who are going to do something dangerous without realizing itTopics Dangerc2

verb

/ˈslɔːtə(r)/

/ˈslɔːtər/

[often passive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they slaughter	/ˈslɔːtə(r)/ /ˈslɔːtər/
he / she / it slaughters	/ˈslɔːtəz/ /ˈslɔːtərz/
past simple slaughtered	/ˈslɔːtəd/ /ˈslɔːtərd/
past participle slaughtered	/ˈslɔːtəd/ /ˈslɔːtərd/
-ing form slaughtering	/ˈslɔːtərɪŋ/ /ˈslɔːtərɪŋ/

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slaughter something to kill an animal, usually for its meat synonym butcher
- The lambs are taken to the local abattoir to be slaughtered.
Extra Examples
- The animals are all humanely slaughtered.
- Thousands of birds were slaughtered for their feathers.
- elephants illegally slaughtered by poachers
Topics Farmingc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- humanely
- ritually
- illegally
- …
preposition
- for
See full entry
slaughter somebody/something to kill a large number of people or animals violently synonym massacre
- Men, women and children were slaughtered and villages destroyed.
Extra Examples
- Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered.
- Thousands of people were systematically slaughtered by their oppressors.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- brutally
- cruelly
- indiscriminately
- …
See full entry
slaughter somebody/something (informal) to defeat somebody/something by a large number of points in a sports game, competition, etc.
- We were slaughtered 10–1 by the home team.

Word OriginMiddle English (as a noun): from Old Norse slátr ‘butcher's meat’; related to slay. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent.