slang
1very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, and ephemeral than ordinary language, as Hit the road.
(in English and some other languages) speech and writing characterized by the use of vulgar and socially taboo vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.
the jargon of a particular class, profession, etc.
the special vocabulary of thieves, vagabonds, etc.; argot.
to use slang or abusive language.
to assail with abusive language.
Origin of slang
1usage note For slang
Other words for slang
Words that may be confused with slang
Words Nearby slang
Other definitions for slang (2 of 2)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use slang in a sentence
In the early days, there was a strong Jewish influence, and much of the underworld’s slang is borrowed from Yiddish.
The Mobster Who Brought Armenia and Azerbaijan Together … in Death | Fiona Zublin | October 9, 2020 | OzySo he built his own list that includes thousands of proper names, then added to it more slang and contractions to expand it even further.
Former Apple engineer and autocorrect creator builds his first app, a word game called Up Spell | Sarah Perez | October 7, 2020 | TechCrunchBoth fintech startups are unicorns—industry slang for private companies valued at $1 billion or more.
She was one of the world’s few female bank CEOs. Now she’s founding a fintech venture group | Claire Zillman, reporter | September 15, 2020 | FortuneWe build our slang, our jokes, our medicine, even our obscenity around the belief that sex and social behavior go together.
Feel free to use slang with your friends and family, but probably avoid it when you’re communicating with coworkers.
Six tips for writing emails that aren’t absolute garbage | Harry Guinness | July 8, 2020 | Popular-Science
Not even Radio Bemba (Cuban slang for the rumor mill) had picked up the signal.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind | Brin-Jonathan Butler | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt's a long trip, to be sure, illustrated here with the hypothetical slang "couch."
“I do all this stuff in the community and the haji mart over there,” he said, using the slang for Iraqis used by U.S. soldiers.
Awkward: This Democratic Judicial Candidate's Husband Is a White Supremacist | Gideon Resnick | August 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTJenna and Tamara (Jillian Rose Reed) her best friend, speak almost exclusively in inside jokes and ever-evolving slang.
In Praise of ‘Awkward’: OMFG MTV, Like, Really Gets High School | Amy Zimmerman | June 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo be bad is to be afraid of equality: Behind all the sloganeering and slang, that is the truth of the age.
From Smarm To Snark, We’re All Soldiers In The War On Obscurity | James Poulos | December 7, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTShe has real pretty manners when she is with them, and really tries not to talk slang.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. DrinkwaterShe did not powder too much, and she had the latest slang at her pink tongue's tip and was yet moderate in her use of it.
Cabin Fever | B. M. BowerA well-bred person will take care not to use slang words and expressions.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness | Florence HartleyNotwithstanding the fact that we owe some of our strongest idioms to slang, the free use of slang always vulgarizes.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) WebsterHis conversation was at all times interlarded with the slang terms appropriated to the science, to which he was so devoted.
Newton Forster | Captain Frederick Marryat
British Dictionary definitions for slang
/ (slæŋ) /
vocabulary, idiom, etc, that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to formal contexts, may be restricted as to social status or distribution, and is characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than standard language
(as modifier): a slang word
another word for jargon 1
to abuse (someone) with vituperative language; insult
Origin of slang
1Derived forms of slang
- slangy, adjective
- slangily, adverb
- slanginess, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for slang
Expressions that do not belong to standard written English. For example, “flipping out” is slang for “losing one's mind” or “losing one's temper.” Slang expressions are usually inappropriate in formal speech or writing. (See jargon.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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