slash-and-burn

American  

[slash-uhn-burn] / ˈslæʃ ənˈbɜrn /

adjective

1. of a method of agriculture used in the tropics, in which forest vegetation is felled and burned, the land is cropped for a few years, then the forest is allowed to reinvade.

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slash-and-burn British  

adjective

1. denoting a short-term method of cultivation in which land is cleared by destroying and burning trees and other vegetation for temporary agricultural use

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Etymology

Origin of slash-and-burn

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

These included polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which indicate the intensity of slash-and-burn fires; leaf waxes, which reflect vegetation and rainfall patterns; and fecal stanols, which help estimate population size.

From Science Daily • Apr. 27, 2026

Still, in a familiar effort at journalistic balance, Russell cited Reddit forums as a primary factor, writing that "posters are not exactly unbiased" and tend to "advocate a slash-and-burn approach to complex relationships."

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2024

AT&T, after a costly attempt to compete with entertainment colossus Walt Disney, is now on a slash-and-burn mission to return to its roots as a mobile and broadband provider.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 16, 2023

Traditional slash-and-burn methods are used almost every year to clear land in Indonesia for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations that public records show are owned both by domestic and foreign or overseas-listed companies.

From Reuters • Oct. 6, 2023

To begin with, slash-and-burn simply does not produce enough charcoal to make terra preta—the carbon mostly goes into the air in the form of carbon dioxide.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann