butcher

I UK [ˈbʊtʃə(r)] / US [ˈbʊtʃər] noun [countable]
Word forms "butcher":
singular butcher plural butchers
*

1) someone whose job is to sell meat and sometimes also to kill animals for meat. The shop they work in is called a butcher's or a butcher's shop.

2) someone who has killed someone, often a lot of people, in a cruel and violent way

•

have/take a butcher's — British

informal to have a look at something

Etymology:
From butcher's hook, rhyming slang for "look".
II UK [ˈbʊtʃə(r)] / US [ˈbʊtʃər] verb [transitive]
Word forms "butcher":
present tense I/you/we/they butcher he/she/it butchers present participle butchering past tense butchered past participle butchered

1) to kill someone, often a lot of people, in a cruel and violent way

They saw their parents, brothers, and sisters butchered.

2) to kill an animal and cut it up so that it can be eaten