sling

[sling]

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noun

a device for hurling stones or other missiles that consists, typically, of a short strap with a long string at each end and that is operated by placing the missile in the strap, and, holding the ends of the strings in one hand, whirling the instrument around in a circle and releasing one of the strings to discharge the missile.

a slingshot.

a bandage used to suspend or support an injured part of the body, commonly a bandage suspended from the neck to support an injured arm or hand.

a strap, band, or the like, forming a loop by which something is suspended or carried, as a strap attached to a rifle and passed over the shoulder.

sling-back.

an act or instance of slinging.

a rope, chain, net, etc., for hoisting freight or for holding it while being hoisted.

Nautical.

a chain for supporting a hoisting yard.
slings,the area of a hoisting yard to which such chains are attached; the middle of a hoisting yard.

verb (used with object), slung, sling·ing.

to throw, cast, or hurl; fling, as from the hand.

to place in or secure with a sling to raise or lower.

to raise, lower, etc., by such means.

to hang by a sling or place so as to swing loosely: to sling a rifle over one's shoulder.

to suspend: to sling a hammock between two trees.

Idioms

sling hash, Slang. to work as a waiter or waitress, especially at a lunch counter or cheap restaurant.

Origin of sling

1175–1225; (v.) Middle English slyngen < Old Norse slyngva to sling, fling, cognate with Old English slingan to wind, twist; (noun) Middle English, perhaps derivative of the v., though sense “strap, hoist” may be of distinct orig.

Can be confusedsling slink

Synonyms for sling

9. pitch, toss.

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

Related Words for slinging

lob, fling, dangle, hoist, hurl, heave, catapult, shoot, suspend, raise, weight, launch, fire, toss, swing, chuck, send, cast, pitch, peg

Examples from the Web for slinging

Contemporary Examples of slinging

To make ends meet, she held a variety of odd jobs, from “selling newspapers door-to-door” to “slinging Orange Juliuses in a mall.”
13 Things You Didn’t Know About Wendy Davis
Erin Cunningham
August 15, 2013
Too young to remember the crash of 2008 in vivid detail, Fox has been slinging stocks while on the set for the last few years.
When Celebrities Like Mila Kunis Talk Stocks, It’s Time to Get Out of the Market
Daniel Gross
March 15, 2013
If anyone is slinging any mud intellectually, ideologically, politically, diplomatically, it usually ends up on Israel.
An Ahistorical Tantrum In The Times
Gil Troy
March 13, 2013
On some recent beach and surf trips, I ran into these small families who make their living by slinging fish tacos.
Fresh Picks
Sam Talbot
March 22, 2011
Memorizing our lines, slinging them like the fruit in the trees, was effortless and crazy fun.
How I Found My Voice
Carly Simon
June 7, 2009

Historical Examples of slinging

He was up it in no time, and eating and slinging the persimmons into his hat.
W. A. G.'s Tale
Margaret Turnbull
He collected the gear and, slinging it across his shoulders, mounted the hill.
Colorado Jim
George Goodchild
Some of 'em it will be like slinging coals of fire at their heads, too.
The Lilac Lady
Ruth Alberta Brown
Slinging it over his shoulder, he began his return with the carcass.
Adrift in the Wilds
Edward S. Ellis
I said, 'or we shall have Learoyd slinging loose, and he'll be worse than Ortheris was.
Soldier Stories
Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for slinging

sling

noun

a simple weapon consisting of a loop of leather, etc, in which a stone is whirled and then let fly

a rope or strap by which something may be secured or lifted

a rope net swung from a crane, used for loading and unloading cargo

nautical

a halyard for a yard
(often plural)the part of a yard where the sling is attached

med a wide piece of cloth suspended from the neck for supporting an injured hand or arm across the front of the body

a loop or band attached to an object for carrying

mountaineering a loop of rope or tape used for support in belays, abseils, etc

the act of slinging

verb slings, slinging or slung

(tr) to hurl with or as if with a sling

to attach a sling or slings to (a load, etc)

(tr) to carry or hang loosely from or as if from a slingto sling washing from the line

informal to throw

(intr) Australian informal to pay a part of one's wages or profits as a bribe or tip

Derived Formsslinger, noun

Word Origin for sling

C13: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse slyngva to hurl, Old High German slingan

sling

noun

a mixed drink with a spirit base, usually sweetened

Word Origin for sling

C19: of uncertain origin

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 slinging

sling

n.1

c.1300, "implement for throwing stones," from an unidentified continental Germanic source (e.g. Middle Low German slinge "a sling"); see sling (v.). The notion probably is of a sling being twisted and twirled before it is thrown. Sense of "loop for lifting or carrying heavy objects" first recorded early 14c. Meaning "piece of cloth tied around the neck to support an injured arm" is first attested 1720.

sling

c.1200, "to knock down" using a sling, later "to throw" (mid-13c.), especially with a sling, from Old Norse slyngva, from Proto-Germanic *slingwanan (cf. Old High German slingan, German schlingen "to swing to and fro, wind, twist;" Old English slingan "to creep, twist;" Old Frisian slinge, Middle Dutch slinge, Old High German slinga, German Schlinge "sling;" Middle Swedish slonga "noose, knot, snare"), from PIE *slengwh "to slide, make slide; sling, throw." Meaning "to hang from one point to another" (as a hammock) is from 1690s. Related: Slung; slinging.

sling

n.2

sweetened, flavored liquor drink, 1807, American English, of unknown origin; perhaps literally "to throw back" a drink (see sling (v.)), or from German schlingen "to swallow."

sling

n.3

"act of throwing," 1520s, from sling (v.).

slinging in Medicine

sling

[slĭng]

n.

A supporting bandage or suspensory device, especially a loop suspended from the neck and supporting the flexed forearm.

Idioms and Phrases with slinging

sling

In addition to the idioms beginning with sling

sling hash
sling mud at

also see:

ass in a sling