slave

American  

[sleyv] / sleɪv /

noun

1. a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another and forced to provide unpaid labor.

2. a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person.

   She was a slave to her own ambition.

3. a drudge.

   a housekeeping slave.

4. a slave ant.

5. Photography. a subsidiary flash lamp actuated through its photoelectric cell when the principal flash lamp is discharged.

6. Machinery, Computers. a device or process under control of or repeating the actions of a similar device or process.

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verb (used without object)

slaved, slaving

1. to work like a slave; drudge.

   Synonyms:

   grind, slog, labor, toil

2. to engage in the slave trade; procure, transport, or sell slaves.

verb (used with object)

slaved, slaving

1. Machinery, Computers. to connect (a device) to a master as its slave.

2. Archaic. to enslave.

slave British  

/ sleɪv /

noun

1. a person legally owned by another and having no freedom of action or right to property

2. a person who is forced to work for another against his will

3. a person under the domination of another person or some habit or influence

   a slave to television

4. a person who works in harsh conditions for low pay

5. 1. a device that is controlled by or that duplicates the action of another similar device (the master device)

   2. ( as modifier )

      slave cylinder

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verb

1. to work like a slave

2. (tr) an archaic word for enslave

Other Word Forms

• proslave adjective
• semislave noun
• slaveless adjective
• slavelike adjective

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; Slav

Example Sentences

The Browns had a hand in everything from ironmaking and rum distilling to whaling and the slave trade.

From Barron's

"A lot of customers like it, and they said it makes sense: that it suits the spirit of today's corporate slaves," Zhang said.

From BBC

Around this time, the trans-Atlantic slave trade started gradually as Portuguese traders pushed farther south along the west coast of Africa in ships with larger cargo holds and more artillery than earlier vessels.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Being a happy vassal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else,” Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said.

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, visitors were told that “enslaved labor played a dominant . . . role in the nation’s economy” and even that slaves “built . . . the nation.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bond servant
• bondslave
• bondsman/woman
• captive
• chattel
• serf