slave driver

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noun

an overseer of enslaved laborers and enforcer of hierarchy and discipline in the institution of chattel slavery.

a hard taskmaster: His boss was a slave driver.

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of slave driver

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use slave driver in a sentence

Thankfully there were no casualties—the driver managed to stop the train immediately.
Is Putin Turning to Terrorism in Ukraine?|Anna Nemtsova|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He also was working to recruit Castro as a driver for a drug load.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro|Bill Conroy|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
So I asked the driver to honk the horn, which he does, and Rod looks over.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Abraham, a yellow cab driver and student, feels that blacks are targeted unfairly by the police.
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Public employee unions are a little-acknowledged driver of this conflict.
How Public Sector Unions Divide the Democrats|Daniel DiSalvo|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But, when the car came thundering down, it was crammed to the step; with a melancholy gesture, the driver declined her signal.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
Gallinas, the noted slave factory on the west of Africa, purchased by the Liberian republic.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
The driver must at all times have his car under reasonable control so that he can stop in time to avoid injury.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
If there be no facilities for stopping for the night, a driver is not negligent should he proceed through the fog.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
It was being driven very rapidly, but very skillfully, and the car was empty save for the driver.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn|Margaret Penrose

British Dictionary definitions for slave driver

slave-driver

noun

(esp formerly) a person forcing slaves to work

an employer who demands excessively hard work from his employees

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

slave driver

Origin of slave driver

Words related to slave driver

How to use slave driver in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for slave driver