Definition of "slaughter" in English

noun

1. (uncountable) The killing of animals, generally for food.

2. A massacre; the killing of a large number of people.

   • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book VI, 1773, The First Six Books of Milton's Paradise Lost, Edinburgh, page 416, For ſin, on war and mutual ſlaughter bent.

3. (rare) A mass destruction of non-living things.

4. A rout or decisive defeat.

5. (collective) A group of iguanas.

verb

1. (transitive) To butcher animals, generally for food.

2. (transitive, intransitive) To massacre people in large numbers.

3. (transitive) To kill someone or something, especially in a particularly brutal manner.