slew

¹ American  

[sloo] / slu /

verb

1. simple past tense of slay.

---

slew ² American  

[sloo] / slu /

Or slue

noun

Informal.

1. a large number or quantity.

   a whole slew of people.

---

slew ¹ British  

/ sluː /

verb

1. to twist or be twisted sideways, esp awkwardly

   he slewed around in his chair

2. nautical to cause (a mast) to rotate in its step or (of a mast) to rotate in its step

---

noun

1. the act of slewing

slew ² British  

/ sluː /

verb

1. the past tense of slay

---

slew ³ British  

/ sluː /

noun

1. a variant spelling (esp US) of slough 1

---

slew ⁴ British  

/ sluː /

noun

1. informal a great number or amount; a lot

---

Etymology

Origin of slew

1830–40, < Irish sluagh crowd, throng, army, host

Example Sentences

A slew of marketers have spoken recently about the perils of becoming over-reliant on discounting to draw consumer sales.

From The Wall Street Journal

But it has, and in its aftermath comes a slew of new laws passed that year that will affect the lives of almost every Californian.

From Los Angeles Times

Expect a slew of rival entertainment companies to follow suit—and perhaps even bigger disruption.

From Barron's

Tariff exemptions and a slew of trade deals have limited the inflationary effects of the highest import taxes in decades.

From The Wall Street Journal

Then, they moved to the solarium, which already boasted a slew of colorful and lit up greenery, which they hung baubles from.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• abundance
• aggregation
• batch
• bunch
• bundle
• multiplicity
• plenty
• profusion
• ream
• scad