From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbutcherybutch‧er‧y /ˈbʊtʃəri/ noun [uncountable] 1 KILLcruel and unnecessary killing the butchery of battle2 DFthe preparation of meat for sale
Examples from the Corpus
butchery• One can easily imagine how this apparent butchery of corpses might be misinterpreted by a stranger unaccustomed to such a practice.• It was born of fear for her grandfather, he thought as he returned to his butchery of the President's shotgun.• A horrible series of futile uprisings against impossible odds and always ending in butchery and defeat for the rebels.• They feared that their troops might acquire a taste for such butchery and become no better than those they fought against.• I have felt the same shock and outrage since I lived in the Lakeside area and watched the butchery of those trees.• He had a slight grievance against the landowner, we understand, but hardly enough to account for this butchery.• It was not fighting, it was butchery. 