butcher 1 of 2

noun

ˈbu̇-chər How to pronounce butcher (audio)
Definition of butchernext
as in blunderer
someone who bungles an effort the newest intern on the campaign is a butcher when it comes to writing press releases

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

butcher

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to slaughter
to kill on a large scale the barbarians butchered the monks in the monasteries without mercy

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to fumble
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way the new piano student butchered the sonatina

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of butcher
Noun
Independent butchers are rare these days, as chain grocery stores with in-house butchers have become more prevalent. — Emily M. Olson, Hartford Courant, 12 June 2026 For now, the Ortizes have hired a local butcher to provide menu items like Italian sausage and other meats. — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 24 June 2026
Verb
People began losing touch with butchering an entire animal, as well as with preparation methods for organ meats. — Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026 The plague victims likely hunted, skinned and butchered marmots for their meat and fur, which would have exposed members of the community to the bacteria, Macleod said. — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 17 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for butcher
Recent Examples of Synonyms for butcher
  1. incompetent
  2. slaughter
  3. fumble
  4. blow
  5. murder
  6. dub
  7. mangle
  8. ruin
Noun
  • The Dodgers reached the pinnacle honestly, in a capitalistic structure that properly hands no favors to the incompetent.
    — Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Jan. 2026
Definition of incompetent
Verb
  • Chicken looks cheaper Ranchers have sent cattle to be slaughtered, rather than keeping them to reproduce, because of the severe weather and high prices.
    — Tom Polansek, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • Some 2 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, were slaughtered or starved to death.
    — Anderson Cooper, CBS News, 28 June 2026
Definition of slaughter
Verb
  • But in her concentration, Porsha fumbled her words, which made the Faithfuls, who were desperate for a crumb of evidence so early in the game, suspicious of her sincerity.
    — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 29 June 2026
  • With Yerry De los Santos also fumbling a bunt in the eighth, the Yanks tallied a season-high four errors on the night.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026
Definition of fumble
Verb
  • One interception attempt resulted in a large explosion that spectacularly blew the roof off a fuel tank.
    — Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • After the final whistle blew and this Norway team had made history, Haaland took a moment and looked into the Norwegian cheering section, trying to process what had just happened.
    — Tim Rohan, NBC news, 6 July 2026
Definition of blow
Verb
  • Walker was abducted, raped, tortured and murdered after attending a Valentine’s Day dance with her boyfriend.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
  • Shanahan notes that the spoiler that’s in the very title of the play — that someone named Roger Ackroyd was murdered — is more than enough.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 5 July 2026
Definition of murder
Verb
  • Republican hardliners jammed up the House floor this week, in part because of congressional leadership's refusal to attach a version of the election bill, dubbed the SAVE America Act, to the National Defense Authorization Act.
    — Dan Mangan,Luke Fountain,Kevin Breuninger,Garrett Downs,Ashley Capoot,Justin Papp, CNBC, 2 July 2026
  • Tipu himself was found slain near a passageway once used to bring water into the fort; it’s dubbed the Water Gate.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 2 July 2026
Definition of dub
Verb
  • Grief mangles cognition and memory in ways that can make even banal tasks feel surreal, if not impossible.
    — Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 22 June 2026
  • The hood of the SUV was mangled, and the glass front door of the mini-mart was wrecked.
    — Lou Kleinberg, CBS News, 17 June 2026
Definition of mangle
Verb
  • However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026
  • After all, plenty of cocktail enthusiasts already complain about mosquitoes ruining a summer evening.
    — Emily Price, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of ruin

Browse Nearby Words

butch
butcher
butchered
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Butcher.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/butcher. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on butcher

Nglish: Translation of butcher for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All