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massacre

MAS-uh-kur/ˈmæs.ə.kə(ɹ)/

Pluralmassacres

Verbmassacres, massacring, massacred

7 meanings of massacre

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  1. 1
    nouncountable
    The killing of many people who cannot fight back, done with cruel and needless violence.

    News of the massacre spread quickly through the nearby villages.

    The whole town mourned for weeks after the terrible massacre.

    Similarslaughter, bloodbath, carnage, butchery, atrocity

    Note
  2. 2
    verbtransitive
    To kill many people who cannot fight back, using cruel and needless violence.

    The army massacred the people in the small mountain town.

    They were willing to massacre anyone who stood in their way.

    Similarslaughter, butcher, exterminate, annihilate

  3. 3
    nounfigurativelycountable
    A game or match where one side loses very badly.

    Like a race where one runner is already at the finish line while the others are still starting.

    The game was a total massacre, with our team losing by forty points.

    It turned into a massacre once the other team scored ten goals.

    Similarrout, drubbing, thrashing, trouncing, whitewash

  4. 4
    verbfigurativelytransitive
    To beat an opponent very easily in a game or contest.

    We massacred the other team by twenty points.

    The champions will massacre any team they face this season.

    Similarthrash, trounce, rout, crush, hammer

  5. 5
    verbfigurativelytransitive
    To perform a song, piece of music, or play very badly.

    Like ruining a nice drawing by scribbling all over it.

    The band massacred the song so badly that people started laughing.

    Try not to massacre the tune when you sing it tonight.

    Similarbutcher, murder, mangle, botch, ruin

  6. 6
    verbnonstandardtransitive
    To kill someone using extreme force and brutality.

    The killer massacred his victims without any mercy.

    Pure rage can drive a man to massacre another person.

    Similarbutcher, slaughter

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 7
    nounobsoletecountable or uncountable
    The crime of murder, where one person kills another on purpose.
    The tyrannous and bloody act is done,— The most arch deed of piteous massacre That ever yet this land was guilty of.
    c. 1593, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third:”Here, massacre means murder, killing someone on purpose.
    Note

Practice

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Origin

It came into English around 1580 from a French word meaning "slaughterhouse" or "butchery." Its deeper origin is uncertain.