slug

¹ American  

[sluhg] / slʌg /

noun

1. any of various snaillike terrestrial gastropods having no shell or only a rudimentary one, feeding on plants and a pest of leafy garden crops.

2. a nudibranch.

3. a metal disk used as a coin or token, generally counterfeit.

4. a piece of lead or other metal for firing from a gun.

5. any heavy piece of crude metal.

6. Printing.

   1. a thick strip of type metal less than type-high.

   2. such a strip containing a type-high number or other character for temporary use.

   3. a line of type in one piece, as produced by a Linotype.

7. Informal. a shot of liquor taken neat; belt.

8. Slang. a person who is lazy or slow-moving; sluggard.

9. a slow-moving animal, vehicle, or the like.

10. Journalism.

    1. Also called catchline.  a short phrase or title used to indicate the story content of newspaper or magazine copy.

    2. the line of type carrying this information.

11. Metalworking. a small piece of metal ready for processing.

12. a gold coin of California, privately issued in 1849 and for some time after, worth 50 dollars.

13. Physics. a unit of mass, equivalent to approximately 32.2 pounds (15 kilograms) and having the property that a force of one pound acting upon a mass of this unit produces an acceleration of one foot per second per second.

14. an irregular projection or knob on the surface of yarn, usually produced by lint or by defects in weaving.

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verb (used with object)

slugged, slugging

1. Printing.

   1. to make (corrections) by replacing entire lines of type, especially as set by a Linotype.

   2. to check the lines of (typeset copy) against copy of the previous typesetting stage to ensure that no line has been omitted, especially before printing or plating.

2. Journalism. to furnish (copy) with a slug.

3. to interpolate pieces of metal into (a joint being welded).

slug ² American  

[sluhg] / slʌg /

verb (used with object)

slugged, slugging

1. to strike heavily; hit hard, especially with the fist.

   Synonyms:

   whale, tag, smite, slam, punch, pound, nail, knock, hammer, crack, strike, hit

2. to hit or drive (a baseball) very hard or a great distance.

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verb (used without object)

slugged, slugging

1. to hit or be capable of hitting hard.

2. to trudge, fight, or push onward, as against obstacles or through mud or snow.

   The infantry slugged up the hill and dug in.

noun

1. a hard blow or hit, especially with a fist or baseball bat.

   Synonyms:

   thwack, thump, whack, wallop, smash, knock, jab, hit, cuff, clip, box, blow

idioms

1. slug it out,

   1. to fight, especially with fists, until a decisive victory has been achieved.

   2. to succeed or survive by constant and intense struggle.

slug ¹ British  

/ slʌɡ /

noun

1. an fps unit of mass; the mass that will acquire an acceleration of 1 foot per second per second when acted upon by a force of 1 pound. 1 slug is approximately equal to 32.17 pounds

2. metallurgy a metal blank from which small forgings are worked

3. a bullet or pellet larger than a pellet of buckshot

4. a metal token for use in slot machines, etc

5. printing

   1. a thick strip of type metal that is less than type-high and is used for spacing

   2. a similar strip carrying a type-high letter, used as a temporary mark by compositors

   3. a metal strip containing a line of characters as produced by a linecaster

6. a draught of a drink, esp an alcoholic one

7. a magnetic core that is screwed into or out of an inductance coil to adjust the tuning of a radio frequency amplifier

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slug ² British  

/ slʌɡ /

verb

1. to hit very hard and solidly, as in boxing

2. (intr) to plod as if through snow

3. informal (tr) to charge (someone) an exorbitant price

4. informal to fight, compete, or struggle with fortitude

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noun

1. an act of slugging; heavy blow

2. informal an exorbitant charge or price

slug ³ British  

/ slʌɡ /

noun

1. any of various terrestrial gastropod molluscs of the genera Limax, Arion, etc, in which the body is elongated and the shell is absent or very much reduced Compare sea slug

2. any of various other invertebrates having a soft slimy body, esp the larvae of certain sawflies

3. informal a slow-moving or lazy person or animal

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Other Word Forms

• sluglike adjective

Etymology

Origin of slug¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English slugge “sluggard,” from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian (dialectal) sluggje “heavy, slow person”

Origin of slug²

First recorded in 1845–50; perhaps from slug ¹

Example Sentences

“That’s a pretty good slug of oil if it goes in the market right away,” said John Auers, managing director of refining analytics at consulting firm RBN Energy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

Freeman's winning home-run crowned a night of extraordinary drama that saw both teams slug it out in a back-and-forth battle resembling a heavyweight boxing contest.

From Barron's • Oct. 28, 2025

In a YouTube video, one investor who claimed to have purchased a large slug of the company’s shares explained that the tender offering could help boost the company’s shares over the long term.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 21, 2025

In the picture above, a leopard slug is eating a false deathcap mushroom on the Blickling Estate in Norfolk.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2024

She adjusted the paper’s date on her press, inserted the slug containing the name, city, and state of the newspaper and printed as many slips as there were items marked.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Related Words

• bang
• bash
• bat
• belt
• knock
• punch
• slam
• slap
• smack
• swat
• whack