slaw
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What is slaw? Slaw is a cold salad commonly made from sliced or chopped raw vegetables, especially cabbage or carrots, mixed with a dressing made with mayonnaise or vinegar. It often includes other seasonings and ingredients, such as onions and apples. The word coleslaw can be used to mean the same thing (and slaw is often short for coleslaw). However, coleslaw typically refers to the kind made with cabbage, while slaw can refer to varieties made without cabbage, such as carrot slaw. Slaw is most commonly served as a side dish, such as for barbecue, or a topping, such as for sandwiches. In the U. S., it’s associated with cookouts and picnics and known as a common side dish at some restaurants. Example: My mom makes a tasty slaw with carrots and onions.
Etymology
Origin of slaw
1860–65, < Dutch sla, short for salade salad
Explanation
Slaw is a kind of salad made from raw chopped or shredded cabbage. You might want to put some slaw in your picnic basket to eat with the sandwiches and potato chips. Slaw is shorthand for coleslaw, a side dish or salad that always includes cabbage and sometimes other shredded vegetables. Some slaw is dressed with vinaigrette and other types have a creamy or mayonnaise-based dressing. Many different cultures have versions of slaw, like the one in Germany called Krautsalat that includes apples and onions. Slaw comes from the Dutch sla, short for salade, or "salad."
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.
In a Vanity Fair profile a few years ago, the reporter notes disapprovingly when Goodman eats a corned-beef sandwich and cole slaw, asking “Aren’t we supposed to be on a diet?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Picture a burrito bowl layered in reds and greens: cabbage slaw, sweet corn, charred bell peppers, red onion, shredded lettuce, jalapeños.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
Pulled smoked chicken + frozen mac and cheese + cabbage slaw.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
As word of mouth spread curious customers lined up for meals that included two tenders with fries, slaw and slices of white bread, nearly identical to what the chain offers today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2025
In Stamps, lettuce was used only to make a bed for potato salad or slaw, and peanuts were brought in raw from the field and roasted in the bottom of the oven on cold nights.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
