slag

1
[ slag ]
See synonyms for slag on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Also called cinder. the more or less completely fused and vitrified matter separated during the reduction of a metal from its ore.

  2. the scoria from a volcano.

  1. waste left over after the re-sorting of coal.

verb (used with object),slagged, slag·ging.
  1. to convert into slag.

  2. Metallurgy. to remove slag from (a steel bath).

verb (used without object),slagged, slag·ging.
  1. to form slag; become a slaglike mass.

Origin of slag

1
1545–55; <Middle Low German slagge; cognate with German Schlacke dross, slag; see slack2

Other words from slag

  • slag·a·ble, adjective
  • slag·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • slagless, adjective
  • slag·less·ness, noun
  • un·slagged, adjective

Other definitions for slag (2 of 2)

slag2
[ slag ]

noun
  1. British Slang. an abusive woman.

Origin of slag

2
First recorded in 1780–90; originally an argot word for a worthless person or a thug; perhaps identical with slag1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for slag

slag

/ (slæɡ) /


noun
  1. Also called: cinder the fused material formed during the smelting or refining of metals by combining the flux with gangue, impurities in the metal, etc. It usually consists of a mixture of silicates with calcium, phosphorus, sulphur, etc: See also basic slag

  2. a mass of rough fragments of pyroclastic rock and cinders derived from a volcanic eruption; scoria

  1. a mixture of shale, clay, coal dust, and other mineral waste produced during coal mining

  2. British slang a coarse or dissipated girl or woman

verbslags, slagging or slagged
  1. (tr) British slang (usually foll by off) to abuse (someone) verbally

  2. (intr) Australian slang to spit

Origin of slag

1
C16: from Middle Low German slagge, perhaps from slagen to slay

Derived forms of slag

  • slagging, noun
  • slaggy, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for slag

slag

[ slăg ]


  1. The vitreous mass left as a residue by the smelting of metallic ore. It consists mostly of the siliceous and aluminous impurities from the iron ore.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.