slave
Americannoun
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slaves
plural
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a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another and forced to provide unpaid labor.
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a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person.
She was a slave to her own ambition.
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a drudge.
a housekeeping slave.
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a slave ant.
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Photography. a subsidiary flash lamp actuated through its photoelectric cell when the principal flash lamp is discharged.
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Machinery, Computers. a device or process under control of or repeating the actions of a similar device or process.
verb (used without object)
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slaves,
present (3rd person singular)
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slaved,
past participle, past
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slaving
present participle
verb (used with object)
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slaves,
present (3rd person singular)
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slaved,
past participle, past
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slaving
present participle
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Machinery, Computers. to connect (a device) to a master as its slave.
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Archaic. to enslave.
noun
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a person legally owned by another and having no freedom of action or right to property
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a person who is forced to work for another against his will
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a person under the domination of another person or some habit or influence
a slave to television
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a person who works in harsh conditions for low pay
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a device that is controlled by or that duplicates the action of another similar device (the master device)
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( as modifier )
slave cylinder
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verb
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to work like a slave
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(tr) an archaic word for enslave
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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slavesimple
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slavessimple
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have slavedperfect
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has slavedperfect
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am slavingprogressive
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are slavingprogressive
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is slavingprogressive
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have been slavingperfect progressive
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has been slavingperfect progressive
Past
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slavedsimple
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had slavedperfect
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was slavingprogressive
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were slavingprogressive
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had been slavingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slave
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English sclave (also slave ), from Old French escla(i)ve, and Medieval Latin sclāvus (masculine), sclāva (feminine) “slave,” special use of Sclāvus “Slavic, a Slav, slave” (Latin does not tolerate the consonant cluster sl- and employs the cluster scl- instead); so called because Slavs in Central Europe and the Balkans were commonly enslaved in the early Middle Ages; see origin at Slav
Explanation
Someone who is forcibly held in servitude is called a slave. The practice of owning slaves is immoral and detestable. Throughout history there have been slaves, and in some parts of the world some people still force others into slavery. Often the word is used more loosely. You might buy a lot of clothes because you're a slave to the latest fashion trends. You could spend all day in the kitchen, preparing 12 casseroles, working like a slave. That kind of exaggeration is common, but don't kid yourself: nothing is really similar to — or as horrible as — being a slave.
Vocabulary lists containing slave
"Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad"
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Workshop 4, Part 1
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Ancient Greece, Lessons 4–8
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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:
Modern British royals have expressed remorse for the brutal slave trade that enriched their ancestors, but like the UK government have not issued an official apology for the slave trade.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
The palace said discussions about the colonial legacy and the slave trade were "important" but "primarily matters for governments to address".
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Anyone who contributed financially to the transatlantic slave trade, or to a company enabling the trade, is listed in the database.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Last week, a Downing Street spokesperson said the transatlantic slave trade was "abhorrent" but the UK position was that it does not pay reparations.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
The use of forced slave labor by Europeans began almost as soon as the first Spanish settlers arrived in the New World.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
“We were slaves to the fiat system,” she said, “but Bitcoin brought hope back into my life, hope that I can retire someday.”
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
By the middle of the 17th century, the Spanish had transported up to 300,000 African slaves to the Americas, mostly to Mexico and Peru.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
If the phrase “all men are created equal” was meant to include black people, Taney reasoned, why had so many Founders owned slaves?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
In the 18th Century, the Church's missionary wing ran plantations and owned hundreds of slaves, which helped fund its work across the Americas and beyond.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Washington’s soldiers were employed to recover many of these runaway slaves.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
It often means we lose a lot in the edit, scenes that we’ve slaved over, beautifully shot work, prized moments, but his instincts are always, always right.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 15, 2019
This work that my dad slaved over for 10 years now will have a new life.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2014
But what’s crucial, what gives me some infinitesimal measure of hope, is that this book I wrote and slaved over every day and obsessed over for years will still be out there.
From Salon ● May 12, 2013
Kee slaved away on features about the way Britain was shaping up for the future and trying to live down its colonial past.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 11, 2013
Years and years the son-in-law slaved to pay for his wife.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
St. Patrick offered evocative details of slaving and missionary work in the lands around the Irish Sea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Chefs rarely get Christmas off - if they are not cooking for customers, they are slaving over a hot stove for family.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2022
Hergé, the illustrator and writer of Tintin and another of my great heroes, once drew a picture of himself slaving at the desk, with Tintin holding a whip over him showing a sort of disdain.
From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2022
“This is my first virus I was working on, and kind of slaving away at it — and it’s really changed the field.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2022
“News is rather hard to come by when you’re slaving in a mine.”
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
