slum
Americannoun
-
Often slums. a thickly populated, run-down, squalid part of a city, inhabited by poor people.
-
any squalid, run-down place to live.
verb (used without object)
-
to visit slums, especially from curiosity.
-
to visit or frequent a place, group, or amusement spot considered to be low in social status.
noun
-
a squalid overcrowded house, etc
-
(often plural) a squalid section of a city, characterized by inferior living conditions and usually by overcrowding
-
(modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of slums
slum conditions
verb
-
to visit slums, esp for curiosity
-
Also: slum it. to suffer conditions below those to which one is accustomed
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
slumsimple
-
slumssimple
-
have slummedperfect
-
has slummedperfect
-
am slummingprogressive
-
are slummingprogressive
-
is slummingprogressive
-
have been slummingperfect progressive
-
has been slummingperfect progressive
Past
-
slummedsimple
-
had slummedperfect
-
was slummingprogressive
-
were slummingprogressive
-
had been slummingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slum
1805–15; compare earlier argot slum room; origin obscure
Explanation
A slum is a poor area of a big city. A slum is usually overcrowded and dirty, a discouraging place to live. Some of a city's neighborhoods are fancy and full of wealthy people, while others are slums (and most are somewhere in between). In a slum, most people are poor. The living conditions are inferior in a slum, which may not have the stores, restaurants, and health services its residents want or need. In the early 1800's, the term was back slum, which meant "back alley" or "street of poor people," and was eventually shortened to simply slum.
Vocabulary lists containing slum
Chapter 21: An Urban Society
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Society
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Thirst
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Promoting slum clearance and clean water while preventing adulterated food addressed popular grievances while offering competent, uncontroversial government.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Hussain Ahmed, 20, whose family lives in Machhar Colony, one of Karachi's largest slum areas where most of the population is comprised of Bengalis, does not have Pakistani nationality or an identity card.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
Despite his mounting fame, Bobi Wine chose to continue recording in a music studio he had built in the Kamwokya slum.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
“I’ve never been, nor will I ever become a magnate,” Maduro said in a speech at a Christmas dinner in a Caracas slum just before breaking into a folk song.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
I could tell that she was as surprised as I was to know that he was living in the slum building.
From "When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds
Nubi proposes "gentrification" that upgrades slums like Makoko without displacing residents.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
Mr. Mamdani knows full well that rent restrictions produce slums.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
He has also appeared at demonstrations, and spent Christmas Day visiting some slums and dancing with people in the streets.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2026
Relating his journey to becoming a visual storyteller, Thomas recalled growing up in “one of the worst slums of Philadelphia,” sitting on his front stoop reading Shakespeare, James Baldwin and Tennessee Williams, immersed and transported.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2025
Father had said the slums outside Léopoldville would be set right by American aid, after Independence.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Brooke Henderson, 17, slummed it on the Symetra Tour this week and won.
From Golf Digest ● Oct. 16, 2013
But I never slummed my pen, my lads, whate’er it might contain, While shearin’ for old Tom Patterson, on the One Tree Plain.
From The Old Bush Songs by Paterson, A. B. (Andrew Barton)
They seemed certain to spend their New Year’s slumming it in an undercard bowl and watching their players jump into the transfer portal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
The formidable actress is slumming here, unable to connect with the thin character or material.
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2024
“She might have considered herself slumming it with a TV guy, and TV guy was now breaking up with her. I can’t begin to describe the look of confusion on her face.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
I don’t see any of this stuff as slumming.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2022
I flinched at the slumming comment, but the truth was our businesses benefited from the tourism.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
