ˈbutʃə n. & v. --n. 1 a a
person whose trade is dealing in
meat. b a person
who slaughters animals
for food. 2 a person who kills or
has people killed indiscriminately or brutally. --v.tr. 1
slaughter or
cut up (an animal) for food. 2
kill (people) wantonly or cruelly. 3
ruin (esp. a job or a
musical composition)
through incompetence. øthe butcher,
the baker, the candlestick-maker people of
all kinds or trades. butcher-bird a
shrike of the
genus Lanius,
native to Australia
and New Guinea,
with a long hook-tipped bill for
catching prey. butcher's rhymingsl. a
look (short for butcher's hook). butcher's-broom a low spiny-leaved
evergreen shrub, Ruscus aculeatus. butcher's meat slaughtered
fresh meat excluding game,
poultry, and
bacon. øøbutcherly adv. [ME f. OF bo(u)chier f. boc BUCK(1)]