processed

Everyday

1. (literal) changed by a factory or machine (processed food). tree →
2. (literal) dealt with officially (your application has been processed). tree →
3. (euphemism, jargon) slaughtered for meat (of farm animals). tree →

In the lessons

The meat industry uses «processed» to talk about killing animals in clean words. In other senses it is a normal word. Jargon register for the animal sense; everyday and official for the others.

Examples

• Processed food often has lots of salt. tree →
• Your passport application has been processed. tree →
• The cattle were sent to be processed. tree →
• Chicken nuggets are made from processed meat. tree →
• The data was processed by the computer. tree →
• «Processed» at the farm means the animals were killed for meat. tree →

Note

Most of the time it means changed or dealt with. For farm animals it means killed. Plain words: killed, slaughtered (for animals).