slew

[ sloo ]

/ slu /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slew ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

simple past tense of slay.

Nearby words

slew

or slue

[ sloo ]

/ slu /

noun Informal.

a large number or quantity: a whole slew of people.

Origin of slew

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

slew

[ sloo ]

/ slu /

verb (used with or without object), noun

slue¹.

slew

⁴

[ sloo ]

/ slu /

noun U.S., Canadian.

slough¹(def 3).

slay

[ sley ]

/ sleɪ /

verb (used with object), slew or slayed (especially for def 4); slain; slay·ing.

to kill by violence.

to destroy; extinguish.

sley.

Slang.

to impress strongly; overwhelm, especially by humor: Your jokes slay me.
to make a strong impression with: She really slayed her performance last night.

Obsolete. to strike.

verb (used without object), slew or slayed (especially for def 7); slain; slay·ing.

to kill or murder.

Slang. to strongly impress or overwhelm someone: His whole album slays.

noun

sley.

Origin of slay

before 900; Middle English sleen, slayn, Old English slēan; cognate with Dutch slaan, German schlagen, Old Norse slā, Gothic slahan “to strike, beat”

SYNONYMS FOR slay

1. murder, slaughter, massacre, butcher, assassinate. 2. annihilate, ruin.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slay ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsslay·a·ble, adjectiveslay·er, nounun·slay·a·ble, adjective

slue

or slew

[ sloo ]

/ slu /

verb (used with object), slued, slu·ing.

to turn (a mast or other spar) around on its own axis, or without removing it from its place.

to swing around.

verb (used without object), slued, slu·ing.

to turn about; swing around.

noun

the act of sluing.

a position slued to.

Origin of slue

First recorded in 1760–70; origin uncertain

sley

or slay, sleigh

[ sley ]

/ sleɪ /

noun, plural sleys.

the reed of a loom.

the warp count in woven fabrics.

British. the lay of a loom.

verb (used with object)

to draw (warp ends) through the heddle eyes of the harness or through the dents of the reed in accordance with a given plan for weaving a fabric.

Origin of sley

before 1050; Middle English sleye, Old English slege weaver's reed; akin to Dutch slag, German Schlag, Old Norse slag, Gothic slahs a blow; see slay

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for slew

He says device makers also will have to meet a slew of security requirements: Can the device be encrypted?
How Your Pacemaker Will Get Hacked|Kaiser Health News|November 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Between her slew of appointments, Lennox manages to squeeze in enough time for no less than 40 different charities.
Annie Lennox Doesn’t Give a Damn What You Think|Itay Hod|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Apparently, Minaj received a slew of offensive tweets and rude Instagram comments in response to the racy image.
Beyoncé’s ‘Flawless’ Lyrics Tease Her Elevator Drama with Jay Z|Amy Zimmerman|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Afterwards, a slew of major NBA reporters did their best to quell the giddy, growing mob.
LeBron James Returns to Cleveland: How 'The Decision 2.0' Happened|Robert Silverman|July 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The park administration has embarked on a slew of tourist-luring projects.
Can Gorillas Save the Democratic Republic of the Congo?|Nina Strochlic|April 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The fireman was already on the tender, ready to slew over the pipe that would bring a cataract of water down into the reservoir.
Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer|J. W. Duffield
Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.
The King James Bible, Complete|Various
But he was intrenched, and slew hundreds of the enemy before he retreated, which was effected without loss.
A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital|John Beauchamp Jones
He slew a lion in fair combat, with nought but his cloak and a short sword.
The Cloister and the Hearth|Charles Reade
After that they slew Kol, and Thrain cut off his head, and they threw the trunk over-board, but kept his head.
The story of Burnt Njal|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for slew

slew

/ (sluː) /

verb

the past tense of slay

verb

to twist or be twisted sideways, esp awkwardlyhe slewed around in his chair

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

noun

the act of slewing

Word Origin for slew

C18: of unknown origin

noun

a variant spelling (esp US) of slough 1 (def. 2)

noun

informal, mainly US and Canadian a great number or amount; a lot

Word Origin for slew

C20: from Irish Gaelic sluagh; related to Old Irish slōg army

slue

/ (sluː) /

noun, verb

a variant spelling (esp US) of slew 2

slue

/ (sluː) /

noun

a variant spelling of slough 1 (def. 2)

slue

/ (sluː) /

noun

US informal a variant spelling of slew 4

slay

/ (sleɪ) /

verb slays, slaying, slew or slain (tr)

archaic, or literary to kill, esp violently

slang to impress (someone) sexually

obsolete to strike

Derived Formsslayer, noun

Word Origin for slay

Old English slēan; related to Old Norse slā, Gothic, Old High German slahan to strike, Old Irish slacaim I beat

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

Word Origin and History for slew

slew

n.1

"swampy place," 1708, North American variant of slough.

slew

"to turn, swing, twist," 1834, earlier slue (1769), a nautical word, of unknown origin. Slewed (1801) is old nautical slang for "drunk." Slew-foot "clumsy person who walks with feet turned out" is from 1896.

n.2

"large number," 1839, from Irish sluagh "a host, crowd, multitude," from Celtic and Balto-Slavic *sloug- "help, service" (see slogan).

slay

Old English slean "to smite, strike, beat," also "to kill with a weapon, slaughter" (class VI strong verb; past tense sloh, slog, past participle slagen), from Proto-Germanic *slahan, from root *slog- "to hit" (cf. Old Norse and Old Frisian sla, Danish slaa, Middle Dutch slaen, Dutch slaan, Old High German slahan, German schlagen, Gothic slahan "to strike"). The Germanic words are from PIE root *slak- "to strike" (cf. Middle Irish past participle slactha "struck," slacc "sword").

Modern German cognate schlagen maintains the original sense of "to strike." Meaning "overwhelm with delight" (mid-14c.) preserves one of the wide range of meanings the word once had, including, in Old English, "stamp (coins); forge (weapons); throw, cast; pitch (a tent), to sting (of a snake); to dash, rush, come quickly; play (the harp); gain by conquest."

slay

"instrument on a weaver's loom to beat up the weft," Old English slæ, slea, slahae, from root meaning "strike" (see slay (v.)), so called from "striking" the web together. Hence the surname Slaymaker "maker of slays."

slew

verb

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

slew

or slue

noun Informal.

Origin of slew

slew

verb (used with or without object), noun

slew

noun U.S., Canadian.

slay

verb (used with object), slew or slayed (especially for def 4); slain; slay·ing.

verb (used without object), slew or slayed (especially for def 7); slain; slay·ing.

noun

Origin of slay

slue

or slew

verb (used with object), slued, slu·ing.

verb (used without object), slued, slu·ing.

noun

Origin of slue

sley

or slay, sleigh

noun, plural sleys.

verb (used with object)

Origin of sley

Examples from the Web for slew

slew

verb

verb

noun

Word Origin for slew

noun

noun

Word Origin for slew

slue

noun, verb

slue

noun

slue

noun

slay

verb slays, slaying, slew or slain (tr)

Word Origin for slay

slew

slew

slay

slay