1. A retailer of meat
   "The local butcher offered a wide variety of fresh cuts"
    
2. A person who slaughters or dresses meat for market
   "The butcher worked efficiently to prepare the animals for processing";
   - slaughterer
    
3. Someone who makes mistakes because of incompetence
   "The inexperienced surgeon was a butcher";
   - bungler, blunderer, bumbler [informal], stumbler, sad sack [N. Amer, informal], botcher
    
4. A brutal indiscriminate murderer
   "The serial killer was described as a butcher by the press"

1. Kill (animals) usually for food consumption
   "They butchered their only goat to survive the winter";
   - slaughter
    
2. Kill a large number of people indiscriminately
   "The Hutus butchered the Tutsis in Rwanda";
   - massacre, slaughter, mow down
    
3. Badly mishandle or ruin something
   "He completely butchered the presentation";
   - botch, bodge [Brit, informal], bumble, fumble, botch up [informal], muff [informal], blow [informal], flub [N. Amer, informal], screw up [informal], spoil, muck up [informal], bungle, fluff [informal], bobble [N. Amer], mishandle, louse up [informal], foul up [informal], mess up, balls up [informal], cock up [Brit, informal], goof up [informal], make a hash of [informal]

1. Used of men; markedly masculine in appearance or manner
   "His butch attitude often rubbed people the wrong way";
   - macho
    
2. (of male or female homosexuals) characterized by stereotypically male traits or appearance
   "Her butch haircut was short and severe"; "He adopted a butch persona at the gay bar"

Derived forms: butchered, butchering, butchers

See also: homosexual, masculine

Type of: fail, go wrong, incompetent, incompetent person, kill, liquidator, manslayer [archaic], merchandiser, merchant, miscarry, murderer, skilled worker, trained worker

Encyclopedia: Butcher, Martin