slash

¹ American  

[slash] / slæʃ /

noun

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

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slash ² American  

[slash] / slæʃ /

verb (used with object)

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)

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 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

• unslashed adjective

Etymology

Origin of slash¹

An Americanism dating back to 1645–55; origin uncertain

Origin of slash¹

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

Example Sentences

The project, begun in a remote fishing town in 2024, is expected to slash transit costs by one-fifth between South America and China, according to TS Lombard.

From Barron's

The project, begun in a remote fishing town in 2024, is expected to slash transit costs by one-fifth between South America and China, according to TS Lombard.

From Barron's

UPS has faced a barrage of challenges since it unveiled plans in January 2025 to significantly slash its reliance on Amazon deliveries.

From The Wall Street Journal

His likely nominee, Kevin Warsh, is a one-time hawk who has warmed to lower rates and wants to slash the central bank’s balance sheet.

From The Wall Street Journal

Drugmakers are doing something unusual this year: slashing prices for several widely used medicines.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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