slug

¹

[ sluhg ]

noun

1. any of various snaillike terrestrial gastropods having no shell or only a rudimentary one, feeding on plants and a pest of leafy garden crops.
2. a nudibranch.
3. a metal disk used as a coin or token, generally counterfeit.
4. a piece of lead or other metal for firing from a gun.
5. any heavy piece of crude metal.
6. Printing.
   1. a thick strip of type metal less than type-high.
   2. such a strip containing a type-high number or other character for temporary use.
   3. a line of type in one piece, as produced by a Linotype.
7. Informal. a shot of liquor taken neat; belt.
8. Slang. a person who is lazy or slow-moving; sluggard.
9. a slow-moving animal, vehicle, or the like.
10. Journalism.
    1. Also called catchline. a short phrase or title used to indicate the story content of newspaper or magazine copy.
    2. the line of type carrying this information.
11. Metalworking. a small piece of metal ready for processing.
12. a gold coin of California, privately issued in 1849 and for some time after, worth 50 dollars.
13. Physics. a unit of mass, equivalent to approximately 32.2 pounds (15 kilograms) and having the property that a force of one pound acting upon a mass of this unit produces an acceleration of one foot per second per second.
14. an irregular projection or knob on the surface of yarn, usually produced by lint or by defects in weaving.

verb (used with object)

, slugged, slug·ging.

1. Printing.
   1. to make (corrections) by replacing entire lines of type, especially as set by a Linotype.
   2. to check the lines of (typeset copy) against copy of the previous typesetting stage to ensure that no line has been omitted, especially before printing or plating.
2. Journalism. to furnish (copy) with a slug.
3. to interpolate pieces of metal into (a joint being welded).

slug

²

[ sluhg ]

verb (used with object)

, slugged, slug·ging.

1. to strike heavily; hit hard, especially with the fist.

   Synonyms: whale, smite, slam, punch, pound, nail, knock, hammer, crack, strike, hit, tag

2. to hit or drive (a baseball) very hard or a great distance.

verb (used without object)

, slugged, slug·ging.

1. to hit or be capable of hitting hard.
2. to trudge, fight, or push onward, as against obstacles or through mud or snow:

   The infantry slugged up the hill and dug in.

noun

1. a hard blow or hit, especially with a fist or baseball bat.

   Synonyms: knock, jab, hit, cuff, clip, box, blow, thwack, thump, whack, wallop, smash

slug

¹

/ slʌɡ /

verb

1. to hit very hard and solidly, as in boxing
2. intr to plod as if through snow
3. informal.
   tr to charge (someone) an exorbitant price
4. slug it out informal.
   slug it out to fight, compete, or struggle with fortitude

noun

1. an act of slugging; heavy blow
2. informal.
   an exorbitant charge or price

slug

²

/ slʌɡ /

noun

1. an fps unit of mass; the mass that will acquire an acceleration of 1 foot per second per second when acted upon by a force of 1 pound. 1 slug is approximately equal to 32.17 pounds
2. metallurgy a metal blank from which small forgings are worked
3. a bullet or pellet larger than a pellet of buckshot
4. a metal token for use in slot machines, etc
5. printing
   1. a thick strip of type metal that is less than type-high and is used for spacing
   2. a similar strip carrying a type-high letter, used as a temporary mark by compositors
   3. a metal strip containing a line of characters as produced by a linecaster
6. a draught of a drink, esp an alcoholic one
7. a magnetic core that is screwed into or out of an inductance coil to adjust the tuning of a radio frequency amplifier

slug

³

/ slʌɡ /

noun

1. See sea slug
   any of various terrestrial gastropod molluscs of the genera Limax, Arion, etc, in which the body is elongated and the shell is absent or very much reduced Compare sea slug limacine
2. any of various other invertebrates having a soft slimy body, esp the larvae of certain sawflies
3. informal.
   a slow-moving or lazy person or animal

Other Words From

• sluglike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slug¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English slugge “sluggard,” from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian (dialectal) sluggje “heavy, slow person”

Origin of slug²

First recorded in 1845–50; perhaps from slug ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of slug¹

C19: perhaps from slug ² (bullet)

Origin of slug²

C17 (bullet), C19 (printing): perhaps from slug ¹, with allusion to the shape of the animal

Origin of slug³

C15 (in the sense: a slow person or animal): probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian (dialect) sluggje

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. slug it out,
   1. to fight, especially with fists, until a decisive victory has been achieved.
   2. to succeed or survive by constant and intense struggle.

Example Sentences

Instead, after the initial slug of snow, they predict a dry slot to punch into the region as temperatures rise while the secondary low forms and exits to our east.

From Washington Post

Around 20 million years ago, giant ocean worms may have burrowed into the seafloor and burst forth like the space slug from Star Wars to ambush unsuspecting fish.

From Science News

Think of these like the potato-shaped asteroids from Star Wars—just bigger, farther apart, and without the giant space slugs.

From Nautilus

Despite a quarter million kilometers on the clock, a yelping suspension and the pickup of a slug on barbiturates, it’s a much-sought-after vehicle, the car for Africa.

From Ozy

Using keywords in URL slugs, subheadings, and in the first paragraph of your content are also good practices to follow if you want to see your website nearer the top in Bing SERPs.

From Search Engine Watch

The big slug happened to hit the suspect in the street, passing through his arm and then striking Police Officer Andrew Dossi.

From The Daily Beast

A random slug that seems to have been intended for nobody in particular tore through a wall and struck the child in the head.

From The Daily Beast

On November 4, 1928, someone put a revolver slug into Rothstein's body in Room 349 of the Park Central Hotel.

From The Daily Beast

One night, he pumped a slug from a .357 magnum into the chest of his bass player (who lived to sue).

From The Daily Beast

But at this point, dear old dad has little choice but to stand back and let his girls slug it out and hope for the best.

From The Daily Beast

The green damp hung upon the low walls, and the tracks of the snail and slug glistened in the light; but all was still as death.

From Project Gutenberg

As for me, I still shook with horror when I remembered how close he had come to putting a slug through the drunk.

From Project Gutenberg

My head was swimming a bit, and there was a throb of pain from my side where a slug had gouged a path.

From Project Gutenberg

I don't believe that was an Armstrong slug, though: it acted too sort of lazy.

From Project Gutenberg

Tears were in the eyes of both when Ato took the slug-horn from his father.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bang
• bash
• bat
• belt
• knock
• punch
• slam
• slap
• smack
• swat
• whack