massacre

noun

/ˈmæsəkə(r)/

/ˈmæsəkər/

[countable, uncountable]

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the killing of a large number of people especially in a cruel way
- the bloody massacre of innocent civilians
- Nobody survived the massacre.
Extra Examples
- He accused the troops of the indiscriminate massacre of civilians.
- The massacre was carried out by enemy troops.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- appalling
- bloody
- brutal
- …
verb + massacre
- be responsible for
- carry out
- commit
- …
massacre + verb
- take place
preposition
- massacre by
phrases
- the victims of a massacre
See full entry
(informal) a very big defeat in a game or competition
- The game was a 10–0 massacre for our team.

Word Originlate 16th cent.: from French, of unknown origin.

verb

/ˈmæsəkə(r)/

/ˈmæsəkər/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they massacre	/ˈmæsəkə(r)/ /ˈmæsəkər/
he / she / it massacres	/ˈmæsəkəz/ /ˈmæsəkərz/
past simple massacred	/ˈmæsəkəd/ /ˈmæsəkərd/
past participle massacred	/ˈmæsəkəd/ /ˈmæsəkərd/
-ing form massacring	/ˈmæsəkərɪŋ/ /ˈmæsəkərɪŋ/

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massacre somebody to kill a large number of people, especially in a cruel way
- Hundreds of innocent women and children were massacred.
massacre somebody (informal) to defeat somebody in a game or competition by a high score
- Our team was massacred in the final.

Word Originlate 16th cent.: from French, of unknown origin.