Killcow

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A butcher. obsolete

    "Of all occupations that now adays are used / I would not be a butcher, for that's to be refused; / For whatever is gotten, or whatever is gained, / He shall be call'd Kill-cow, and so shall be named."

  2. 2
    A violent person; a bully; a brutal or indiscriminate killer. figuratively, obsolete

    "Muster his arrant braveries together, and where such a terrible kill-cow, or such a vengeable bull-beggar, to deal withal?"

Synonyms

All synonyms
killbuckkillcalf

Example

More examples

"Of all occupations that now adays are used / I would not be a butcher, for that's to be refused; / For whatever is gotten, or whatever is gained, / He shall be call'd Kill-cow, and so shall be named."

Etymology

From kill + cow.

More for "killcow"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.