slam
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
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slams,
present (3rd person singular)
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slammed,
past participle, past
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slamming
present participle
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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
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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slamsimple
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slamssimple
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have slammedperfect
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has slammedperfect
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am slammingprogressive
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are slammingprogressive
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is slammingprogressive
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have been slammingperfect progressive
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has been slammingperfect progressive
Past
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slammedsimple
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had slammedperfect
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was slammingprogressive
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were slammingprogressive
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had been slammingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
I just want you to amplify how important it is when you slam the courthouse doors, whether it’s preemption or standing, in environment-land, that’s it.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Right fielder Kyle Tucker fixed his bat path and was rewarded with a three-hit, five-RBI performance Friday that included a grand slam.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Since winning his last slam, Djokovic achieved his lifelong goal of winning Olympic gold at Paris 2024.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
When the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit last December to halt the project, the press corps pushed the litigation as a slam dunk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
With the world’s help, it’s practically a slam dunk.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
Bow shocks are typically produced when material flowing away from a star slams into its surroundings.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
In an actual courtroom, court reporters record nonverbal cues like gestures and transcribe through distracting courtroom noises like coughs or door slams.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Bogdan's coalition has gathered 4,000 signatures so far on a petition that slams the lack of public consultation about the Meridian Hill Park project and the possible cancellation of summer events due to construction.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
On stage, Cameron Winter leads an overall enthralling performance, as the group slams out songs back-to-back with little to say in between; no shenanigans, just a top-notch show.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
She gets up and slams her chair into the table and goes back upstairs.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
The professional ballroom dancer also slammed rumors that she was at all dissatisfied with her celebrity pairing alongside 55-year-old Rodriguez, the talk show sidekick to Jimmy Kimmel on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026
Bolsonaro slammed the move in a statement earlier Friday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026
That would be the highest proportion since the second quarter of 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic slammed into the global economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Some researchers think Phobos is an asteroid that was captured by Mars, while others argue that it formed from debris thrown into orbit after a massive object slammed into the planet.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Tomás slammed on the brakes, and John jumped out of the cab with his flashlight and began searching the road.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
Plus, American workers are slamming the brakes on switching jobs, and prediction markets are luring traders away from crypto.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
A group of university academics last week wrote to Prentice slamming Arday's appointment and asking her to appoint an independent body to probe what happened.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The injury will have been caused by her chest slamming into the water.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
But Muchova dusted herself down to fight again, bringing up her second match point by sending Gauff wide before slamming home an inside-out forehand winner into the corner.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
She ran out of the room before she could think, slamming the door behind her, and scampered smack into her mother in the hallway, whose arms were loaded with clean laundry.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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.
