Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun Informal.
a large number or quantity: a whole slew of people.
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Slew
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
verb (used with object)
1.
to kill by violence.
2.
to destroy; extinguish.
3.
sley.
4.
Informal. to impress strongly; overwhelm, especially by humor: Your jokes slay me.
5.
Obsolete. to strike.
verb (used without object)
6.
to kill or murder.
noun
7.
sley.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English sleen, slayn, Old English slēan; cognate with Dutch slaan, German schlagen, Old Norse slā, Gothic slahan to strike, beat
before 900; Middle English sleen, slayn, Old English slēan; cognate with Dutch slaan, German schlagen, Old Norse slā, Gothic slahan to strike, beat
Related forms
slay·a·ble, adjective
slay·er, noun
un·slay·a·ble, adjective
Synonyms
1. murder, slaughter, massacre, butcher, assassinate. 2. annihilate, ruin.
1. murder, slaughter, massacre, butcher, assassinate. 2. annihilate, ruin.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To slew
Collins
World English Dictionary
slay (sleɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , slays, slaying, slew, slain | |
| 1. | archaic, literary or to kill, esp violently |
| 2. | slang to impress (someone) sexually |
| 3. | obsolete to strike |
| [Old English slēan; related to Old Norse slā, Gothic, Old High German slahan to strike, Old Irish slacaim I beat] | |
| 'slayer | |
| —n | |
| slew1 (sluː) | |
| —vb | |
| the past tense of slay | |
| slew or esp (US) slue2 (sluː) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to twist or be twisted sideways, esp awkwardly: he slewed around in his chair |
| 2. | nautical to cause (a mast) to rotate in its step or (of a mast) to rotate in its step |
| —n | |
| 3. | the act of slewing |
| [C18: of unknown origin] | |
| slue or esp (US) slue2 | |
| —vb | |
| —n | |
| [C18: of unknown origin] | |
| slew3 (sluː) | |
| —n | |
| a variant spelling (esp US) of slough | |
| slew or slue4 (sluː) | |
| —n | |
| informal chiefly (US), (Canadian) a great number or amount; a lot | |
| [C20: from Irish Gaelic sluagh; related to Old Irish slōg army] | |
| slue or slue4 | |
| —n | |
| [C20: from Irish Gaelic sluagh; related to Old Irish slōg army] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
slay
O.E. slean "to smite," also "to kill with a weapon" (class VI strong verb; past tense sloh, slog, pp. slagen), from P.Gmc. *slakhanan, from base *slog- "to hit" (cf. O.N., O.Fris. sla, Dan. slaa, M.Du. slaen, Du. slaan, O.H.G. slahan, Ger. schlagen, Goth. slahan "to strike"), from PIE base from base
*slak- "to strike" (cf. M.Ir. pp. slactha "struck," slacc "sword"). Modern Ger. cognate schlagen maintains the original sense of "to strike." Meaning "overwhelm with delight" (1340) preserves some of the wider rangeof meanings that the word once had, including also "to strike a spark" (O.E.).
slew
"to turn, swing, twist," 1834, earlier slue (1769), a nautical word, of unknown origin. Slewed (1801) is old nautical slang for "drunk."
slew
"large number," 1839, from Ir. sluagh "a host, crowd, multitude."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
slay definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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slew definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
There's been a slew of fascinating weapons granted patents this week.
When he learned that he would be forced to take a slew of prerequisites, though, he switched to history.
Yet the past month has brought a slew of stories of government departments stomping all over that bright line.
Last week, game publishers unleashed a slew of promo clips meant to surprise, invigorate and tantalize us.
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