slam
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to shut with force and noise.
to slam the door.
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to dash, strike, knock, thrust, throw, slap down, etc., with violent and noisy impact.
He slammed his books upon the table.
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Informal. to criticize harshly; attack verbally.
He slammed my taste mercilessly.
noun
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a violent and noisy closing, dashing, or impact.
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the noise so made.
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Slang. Usually the slam slammer.
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Informal. a harsh criticism; verbal attack.
I am sick of your slams.
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Informal.
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Also called poetry slam. a competitive, usually boisterous poetry reading.
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a usually competitive performance involving multiple performers with short acts: a tap dance slam.
puppet slams;
a tap dance slam.
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noun
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the winning or bidding of all the tricks or all the tricks but one in a deal.
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an old type of card game associated with ruff.
verb
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to cause (a door or window) to close noisily and with force or (of a door, etc) to close in this way
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(tr) to throw (something) down noisily and violently
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slang (tr) to criticize harshly
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informal (intr; usually foll by into or out of) to go (into or out of a room, etc) in violent haste or anger
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(tr) to strike with violent force
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informal (tr) to defeat easily
noun
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the act or noise of slamming
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slang harsh criticism or abuse
noun
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the winning of all (grand slam) or all but one (little slam or small slam) of the 13 tricks at bridge or whist
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the bid to do so in bridge See grand slam little slam
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an old card game
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has slammedperfect 3rd person singular
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have slammedperfect
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am slammingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been slammingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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slammingparticiple
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are slammingprogressive
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is slammingprogressive 3rd person singular
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slamssingular 3rd person
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have been slammingperfect progressive
Past
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had slammedperfect
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had been slammingperfect progressive
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was slammingprogressive singular
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were slammingprogressive plural
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slammedparticiple
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slammedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of slam1
First recorded in 1650–60; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish slamra “to bang (a door), slam”
Origin of slam2
First recorded in 1660–70; perhaps special use of slam 1
Explanation
To slam is to close something forcefully and loudly, like when you slam your door angrily, or slam the freezer door quickly so your sister won't see the ice cream sandwiches you bought. If you slam your finger in the door, it's going to hurt. And, if you slam your backpack onto the table, you may damage your laptop. The word slam implies violence and force. As a noun, a slam is the action or sound of slamming something. There's also a "poetry slam," when poets compete by reciting their work in front of an audience, and slam-dancing, also known as moshing, in which dancers slam into each other.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays are particles from space that slam into Earth with energies far beyond anything produced by human-built particle accelerators.
From Science Daily • Jun. 9, 2026
With the lead and all of the momentum after Carpentier’s grand slam, Stankiewicz pushed his chips to the middle of the table knowing the importance of winning the opener of a best-of-three series.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
A crowded trade could be about to slam into reverse.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
A joint European-Chinese spacecraft blasted into orbit Tuesday to investigate what happens when extreme winds and giant explosions of plasma shot out from the Sun slam into Earth's magnetic shield.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
I slam the shovel in and manage to shift the heavy branch back into the groove I dug for it.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
