slime

American  

[slahym] / slaɪm /

noun

1. thin, glutinous mud.

2. any ropy or viscous liquid matter, especially of a foul kind.

3. a viscous secretion of animal or vegetable origin.

4. Also called slimeball.  Slang. a repulsive or despicable person.

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verb (used with object)

slimed, sliming

1. to cover or smear with or as if with slime.

2. to remove slime from, as fish for canning.

slime British  

/ slaɪm /

noun

1. soft thin runny mud or filth

2. any moist viscous fluid, esp when noxious or unpleasant

3. a mucous substance produced by various organisms, such as fish, slugs, and fungi

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verb

1. to cover with slime

2. to remove slime from (fish) before canning

slime Scientific  

/ slīm /

1. A slippery or sticky mucous substance secreted by certain animals, such as slugs or snails.

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Usage

What else does slime mean? What’s up, slime? Slime is slang for a (usually male) "friend," often used as a term of address, like dude or bro.

Etymology

Origin of slime

before 1000; Middle English slyme, Old English slīm; cognate with Dutch slijm, German Schleim, Old Norse slīm

Explanation

Slime is a substance that's slippery, damp, and gooey, like the slime that grows on the bottom on a swimming pool if it's not cleaned often enough. People are generally disgusted by slime, so if your dinner guest comments that your famous spinach soufflé looks like slime, you'll probably feel insulted. Like your spinach soufflé, slime is usually greenish in color, though the clear stuff a snail leaves behind is slime too. If you slime something, you cover it in a slimy substance. Experts believe that slime comes from the Old English lim, "sticky substance," which shares a root with the Russian slimak, or "snail."

Example Sentences

Life first emerged on Earth more than 3.5 billion years ago -- but was little more than a layer of slime for most of our planet's history.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

"The key innovation in the biosynthesis of tagatose was in finding the slime mold Gal1P enzyme and splicing it into our production bacteria," said Nair.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026

“Like slime, sludge, and muck, slop has the wet sound of something you don’t want to touch,” the editors continued.

From Salon • Jan. 13, 2026

“It’s going to make these pink slime sites even harder for people to know that what they’re reading is not from a human source and not really local investigative journalism.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2026

He held up his hand as he ran so Skardebek could drop down and lick the remains of the slime off.

From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

Related Words

• goo
• gunk
• mucus
• mud
• sludge