slay
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to kill by violence.
In this game, your goal is to slay the evil dragon and take his hoard.
- Synonyms:
- assassinate, butcher, massacre, slaughter, murder
-
to destroy; extinguish.
Together we are slaying our self-doubt and working towards our dreams.
- Synonyms:
- ruin, annihilate
-
Slang.
-
to impress strongly and favorably; overwhelm, especially by humor.
Your jokes slay me.
-
to make a strong favorable impression with.
She really slayed her performance last night.
-
-
sley.
-
Obsolete. to strike.
verb (used without object)
-
to kill or murder.
-
Slang. to have a strong favorable effect; to be remarkably impressive.
His whole album slays.
noun
idioms
verb
-
archaic to kill, esp violently
-
slang to impress (someone) sexually
-
obsolete to strike
Usage
What else does slay mean? Slay can mean "to kill a person or animal," "to make someone laugh," "to have sex with someone," or "to do something spectacularly well," especially when it comes to fashion, artistic performance, or self-confidence.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slaysimple
-
slayssimple
-
have slainperfect
-
have slayedperfect
-
has slainperfect
-
has slayedperfect
-
am slayingprogressive
-
are slayingprogressive
-
is slayingprogressive
-
have been slayingperfect progressive
-
has been slayingperfect progressive
Past
-
slayedsimple
-
slewsimple
-
had slainperfect
-
had slayedperfect
-
was slayingprogressive
-
were slayingprogressive
-
had been slayingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slay
First recorded before 900; Middle English sleen, slayn, Old English slēan; cognate with Dutch slaan, German schlagen, Old Norse slā, Gothic slahan “to strike, beat”
Explanation
Slay means to kill in a violent way. It has a mythic quality. You might slay the red knight. You might slay the dragon. You might slay the demon. But you probably wouldn't slay an annoying mosquito. Slay is an old word associated with knights and dragons. Like many old words it has some funky forms. When you killed someone or something in the past you say slew, as in "St. George slew the dragon." When you've already done it, you say you have slain.
Vocabulary lists containing slay
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act IV
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"A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
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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:
See: Warsh says he’s determined to slay inflation.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
"My friend Chrissie is a champion of champions and as such she will slay this monster again," said long-time rival and friend Martina Navratilova.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
But cultists are cultists, and when a local man starts recruiting teens to slay the demons haunting the area, an investigation by the three reveals his much larger, more elder-goddish plans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
David should not have to slay Goliath to win a championship trophy at the high school level.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2025
He would slay the rebel lord himself and carve a place out for himself in all the histories of the Seven Kingdoms.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
If Evil-Lyn can stop Adam with a freeze-ray, why does she wait until he slays many of her colleagues to do so?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
She’s only 5 feet 3 but slays taller girls competing in those events.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2025
Powell slays a dragon, he listens to Van Halen, he quotes William Wallace, and carves a self-portrait out of a tree.
From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2025
It's about David, the shepherd boy who battles the giant Goliath, and against the odds, slays him.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2024
“This guy just irritates me. So he slays giants...who doesn’t?”
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
It all depended on what Laurie wore to kindergarten that day or whether Libby was sporting a ponytail, which slayed me every time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025
Moderates are taking the proposal in stride, declaring victory after having slayed the sort of overhauls that Roy and others were pushing for.
From Slate ● May 13, 2025
"We literally ran from the Radisson Red, there were no soundchecks and Daniel went on and just absolutely slayed the audience. He was just sensational," he said.
From BBC ● May 6, 2024
Bowen Yang slayed with a Broadway-style farewell to Santos on a recent “Saturday Night Live.”
From Salon ● Dec. 17, 2023
The king promised a princess’s hand in marriage to whoever slayed the dragon.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
In interviews and on the stump, she conveys both polish and authenticity, and she has garnered a slew of endorsements from unions and progressive organizations like the Teamsters and Emily’s List.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Over the years, Duhamel has upgraded his cabin with a slew of amenities, including plumbing.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Looking ahead, a slew of jobs releases—culminating in non-farms payroll data for June published Thursday—will help define the week’s narrative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
The bulk of this final season has the team dealing with this massive storm that’s created a slew of setbacks at a make-or-break moment for the restaurant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
“This is why I kept this thing in a case. I put a slew of enchantments over it, which was supposed to make the trophy case impenetrable!”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
The children of Grammy-nominated rapper and activist Nipsey Hussle have reportedly received their share of his estate, more than seven years after he was slain in South Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Crowds accompanying the slain leader’s body attacked the government for its attempts to compromise with the West.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Khamenei will lie in state for three days, and the bodies of his slain relatives will also be present.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
His predecessor, Paul Volcker, had slain double-digit inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
They whispered of Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, deadliest of the seven knights of Aerys's Kingsguard, and of how their young lord had slain him in single combat.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
“In many ways, he always thought that he was Saint George slaying the dragon,” the author writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
RBA Gov. Michele Bullock avoided giving forward guidance to markets, but made it abundantly clear that she is serious about slaying the inflation dragon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
Witnessing and writing about the slaying, journalist Jeff Weiss reckons with complex feelings about the loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025
She and her family also sued the city of Los Angeles, alleging that officials covered up police involvement in the rapper’s slaying.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2025
Joaquin knew that he’d never get the treasure without first slaying the dragon.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
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.
