slash

¹ American  

[slash] / slæʃ /

verb (used with object)

slashes, present (3rd person singular) slashed, past participle, past slashing present participle

1. to cut with a violent sweeping stroke or by striking violently and at random, as with a knife or sword.

2. to lash; whip.

3. to cut, reduce, or alter.

   The editors slashed the story to half its length.

   Synonyms:

   abbreviate, abridge

4. to make slits in (a garment) to show an underlying fabric.

5. to criticize, censure, or attack in a savage or cutting manner.

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verb (used without object)

slashes, present (3rd person singular) slashed, past participle, past slashing present participle

1. to lay about one with sharp, sweeping strokes; make one's way by cutting.

2. to make a sweeping, cutting stroke.

noun

1. a sweeping stroke, as with a knife, sword, or pen.

2. a cut, wound, or mark made with such a stroke.

3. a curtailment, reduction, or alteration.

   a drastic slash of prices.

4. a decorative slit in a garment showing an underlying fabric.

5. 1. a short oblique stroke (/) between two words indicating that whichever is appropriate may be chosen to complete the sense of the text in which they occur; a virgule.

      you and/or your dependents.

   2. a dividing line, as in dates, fractions, a run-in passage of poetry to show verse division, etc.; a virgule.

      She got 3/4 of the answers correct.

      “Sweetest love, I do not go/For weariness of thee.” (John Donne)

6. (in forest land)

   1. an open area strewn with debris of trees from felling or from wind or fire.

   2. the debris itself.

7. Slang. slash fiction.

slash ² American  

[slash] / slæʃ /

noun

1. Often slashes. a tract of wet or swampy ground overgrown with bushes or trees.

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slash British  

/ slæʃ /

verb

1. to cut or lay about (a person or thing) with sharp sweeping strokes, as with a sword, knife, etc

2. to lash with a whip

3. to make large gashes in

   to slash tyres

4. to reduce (prices, etc) drastically

5. to criticize harshly

6. to slit (the outer fabric of a garment) so that the lining material is revealed

7. to clear (scrub or undergrowth) by cutting

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noun

1. a sharp, sweeping stroke, as with a sword or whip

2. a cut or rent made by such a stroke

3. a decorative slit in a garment revealing the lining material

4. 1. littered wood chips and broken branches that remain after trees have been cut down

   2. an area so littered

5. Also called: diagonal.   forward slash.   separatrix.   shilling mark.   solidus.   stroke.   virgule.  a short oblique stroke used in text to separate items of information, such as days, months, and years in dates ( 18/7/80 ), alternative words ( and/or ), numerator from denominator in fractions ( 55/103 ), etc

6. slang the act of urinating (esp in the phrase have a slash )

7. a genre of erotic fiction written by women, to appeal to women

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unslashed
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have slashed
  perfect
• has slashed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• is slashing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• are slashing
  progressive
• has been slashing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• slashing
  participle
• am slashing
  progressive 1st person singular
• slashes
  singular 3rd person
• have been slashing
  perfect progressive

Past

• had slashed
  perfect
• slashed
  simple
• slashed
  participle
• were slashing
  progressive plural
• was slashing
  progressive singular
• had been slashing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will slash
  simple
• will have slashed
  perfect
• will have been slashing
  perfect progressive
• will be slashing
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of slash¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English slaschen, perhaps from Old French esclachier “to break”

Origin of slash²

An Americanism dating back to 1645–55; origin uncertain

Explanation

To quickly and violently cut something is to slash it. Sword fighters in a play might just clank their swords together, though they seem to slash each other. After the play is over, the snack stand might slash the price of popcorn. A vandal might slash the tires on people's cars, and a baker will sometimes slash the top of a loaf of bread. Both use a sharp knife, and make sweeping motions as they cut, but the similarities end there. Figuratively, slash can mean "reduce," so a sale at your grocery store might be announced with a sign reading "We slash prices!" This figurative meaning dates from the turn of the 20th century.

Example Sentences

Before then, companies would slash prices to outsell one another, afraid of losing market share.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

She said she and her brother were forced to slash the asking price by £70,000 while continuing to pay rising maintenance charges, management fees and council tax on the empty property in Epsom.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

Guests who don’t want to use the technology can enter through a separate entrance marked with a silhouette of a head and shoulders with a slash through it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026

He is using his money to not only tout his record and build a robust campaign operation, but to slash at competitors who present a threat to his candidacy.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Miig pointed with his chin to a dark smudge, only visible through the trees by the geometric slope against the slash of branch and leaf.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

Related Words

• curtail
• cut
• cut back
• cut down
• drop
• hack
• lower
• pare
• shave
• shorten