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
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Jan. 2025
Farmers there must submit an odor and pest control plan to the county and can build no more than four barns holding egg-laying hens or eight houses for raising chickens for slaughter.
—Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2025
Carma Hassan, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025
Herod the King, hearing the rumors of the birth of a new rival king, orders his army to slaughter every infant in Bethlehem under 2 years of age.
—Lynne Silva-Breen, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for slaughter 
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Noun
Any number of genre films now turn on unsuspecting characters receiving coveted invites from charismatic neo-barons to their remote compounds for luxury, decadence, and ornate slaughter or some variation thereof.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 28 Jan. 2025
Farmers there must submit an odor and pest control plan to the county and can build no more than four barns holding egg-laying hens or eight houses for raising chickens for slaughter.
—Gavin Off, Charlotte Observer, 26 Jan. 2025
Verb
Live bird markets carry poultry that is slaughtered on-site.
—Carma Hassan, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025
Herod the King, hearing the rumors of the birth of a new rival king, orders his army to slaughter every infant in Bethlehem under 2 years of age.
—Lynne Silva-Breen, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for slaughter
Dictionary Entries Near slaughter
Cite this Entry
“Slaughter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slaughter. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
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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