slaughter

(slô'tər)
n.

1. The killing of animals especially for food.
2. The killing of a large number of people; a massacre: "I could not give my name to aid the slaughter in this war, fought on both sides for grossly material ends" (Sylvia Pankhurst).

tr.v., -tered, -ter·ing, -ters.

1. To kill (animals) especially for food; butcher.
2. 1. To kill (people) in large numbers; massacre.
   2. To kill in a violent or brutal manner.

[Middle English, of Scandinavian origin, akin to Old Norse slātr, butchery.]

slaughterer slaugh'ter·er n.
slaughterous slaugh'ter·ous adj.

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noun

The savage killing of many victims: bloodbath, bloodletting, bloodshed, butchery, carnage, massacre, pogrom. See help/harm/harmless.

verb

To kill savagely and indiscriminately: annihilate, butcher, decimate, massacre. See crimes, help/harm/harmless, make/unmake.

n

Definition: killing
Antonyms: birth

v

Definition: kill
Antonyms: bear, create, give birth

IN BRIEF: The act of killing in a cruel way or in large numbers. Also: To kill for food.

Because of the storm and its lengthy aftermath, the poor family had to slaughter their last hog for food.

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sign description: The K-hand makes sharp downward gesture, past the palm of the raised hand.

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1. the killing of animals for the preparation of meat for human consumption. Many methods are used. See also emergency slaughter, captive bolt pistol, carbon dioxide anesthesia, jewish slaughter, muslim slaughter, pithing, puntilla, shechita, sikh slaughter.
2. destruction of animals because they are diseased, e.g. in test-and-slaughter programs.

• casualty s. — see emergency slaughter.
• Danish s. data system — a detailed system for keeping data on slaughter and meat inspection of pigs in Denmark. Based on tattooing of all pigs and a code for meat inspection findings with all information stored on a computer system.
• s. hall, s. floor — the part of an abattoir in which the slaughtering is conducted.
• selective s. — slaughter and disposal of infected animals as a tool in the eradication of disease. Those slaughtered may be infected or be positive reactors or in-contact animals.
• s. spleen — enlargement and congestion of the spleen with hemorrhages under the capsule which occur in some slaughter methods.
• stunning–bleeding s. — stunning either with a hammer or by electric shock followed by shackling and lifting, then by opening of the jugular vein.

For a list of words related to slaughter, see:

• Violent Events - slaughter: ruthless killing, esp. in large numbers
• Murder and Suicide - slaughter: brutal or violent killing of single person or large numbers of people

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See words rhyming with "slaughterous."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Slaughter.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - slagtning, blodbad, massakre, nedslagtning
v. tr. - slagte, nedslagte, massakrere, slå ned, nedsable

Nederlands (Dutch)
slachten, afmaken, afslachten, slachting, slacht, moordpartij

Français (French)
n. - abattage, massacre, boucherie, (Sport, fig) massacre
v. tr. - abattre, massacrer, (Sport) écraser

Deutsch (German)
n. - Abschlachten, Gemetzel, Schlachten
v. - abschlachten, niedermetzeln, schlachten

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σφαγή, μακελειό
v. - (κατα)σφάζω, μακελεύω, (μτφ.) κατακρεουργώ, κατανικώ

Italiano (Italian)
massacrare, macellare, massacro, macello

Português (Portuguese)
n. - chacina (f), matança (f), carnificina (f)
v. - massacrar, chacinar, abater

Русский (Russian)
убой (скота), (массовое) убийство, резня, кровопролитие, забивать, совершать массовое убийство

Español (Spanish)
n. - matanza, carnicería
v. tr. - matar, sacrificar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - slakt, slakande, blodbad, massaker
v. - slakta, massakrera

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
残杀, 大量杀戮, 屠杀, 宰杀, 屠宰, 使惨败, 杀戮, 消灭

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 殘殺, 大量殺戮, 屠殺
v. tr. - 宰殺, 屠宰, 使慘敗, 殺戮, 屠殺, 消滅

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 도살, 잔인한 살인, 완패
v. tr. - 도살하다, (전쟁 따위로) 참살하다, 완패하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 屠殺, 虐殺, 殺戮
v. - 屠殺する, 虐殺する

idioms:

• like lambs to the slaughter    取り扱いやすい

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) مذبحه, مجزرة (فعل) يذبح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮טבח, קטל, שחיטה, תבוסה‬
v. tr. - ‮שחט, ערך טבח‬

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