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slew

 - 26 dictionary results

slew

1  [sloo]
–verb
pt. of slay.

slew

2  [sloo]
–noun Informal.
a large number or quantity: a whole slew of people.
Also, slue.

Origin:
1830–40, Americanism; < Ir sluagh crowd, throng, army, host

slew

3  [sloo]
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object), noun
slue 1 .

slew

4  [sloo]
–noun U.S., Canadian.
slough 1 (def. 3).

slay

  [sley] verb, slew, slain, slay⋅ing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to kill by violence.
2. to destroy; extinguish.
3. sley.
4. Informal. to impress strongly; overwhelm, esp. by humor: Your jokes slay me.
5. Obsolete. to strike.
–verb (used without object)
6. to kill or murder.
–noun
7. sley.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME sleen, slayn, OE slēan; c. D slaan, G schlagen, ON slā, Goth slahan to strike, beat

Related forms:
slay⋅a⋅ble, adjective
slayer, noun

Synonyms:
1. murder, slaughter, massacre, butcher, assassinate. 2. annihilate, ruin.

sley

  [sley] noun, plural sleys, verb
–noun
1. the reed of a loom.
2. the warp count in woven fabrics.
3. British. the lay of a loom.
–verb (used with object)
4. to draw (warp ends) through the heddle eyes of the harness or through the dents of the reed in accordance with a given plan for weaving a fabric.
Also, slay, sleigh.

Origin:
bef. 1050; ME sleye, OE slege weaver's reed; akin to D slag, G Schlag, ON slag, Goth slahs a blow; see slay

slough

1  [slou for 1, 2, 4; sloo for 3]
–noun
1. an area of soft, muddy ground; swamp or swamplike region.
2. a hole full of mire, as in a road.
3. Also, slew, slue. Northern U.S. and Canadian. a marshy or reedy pool, pond, inlet, backwater, or the like.
4. a condition of degradation, despair, or helplessness.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE slōh; c. MLG slōch, MHG sluoche ditch

slue

1  [sloo] verb, slued, slu⋅ing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. to turn (a mast or other spar) around on its own axis, or without removing it from its place.
2. to swing around.
–verb (used without object)
3. to turn about; swing around.
–noun
4. the act of sluing.
5. a position slued to.
Also, slew.

Origin:
1760–70; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To slew
slay   (slā)   
tr.v.   slew (slōō), slain (slān), slay·ing, slays

  1. To kill violently.

  2. past tense and past participle often slayed Slang To overwhelm, as with laughter or love: Those old jokes still slay me.


[Middle English slen, slayen, from Old English slēan.]
slay'er n.
slew 1 also slue   (slōō)   
n.   Informal
A large amount or number; a lot: a slew of unpaid bills.

[Irish Gaelic sluagh, multitude, from Old Irish slúag.]
slew 2   (slōō)   
v.  Past tense of slay.
slew 3   (slōō)   
n.  Variant of slough1.
slew 4   (slōō)   
v.   & n.
Variant of slue1.
slough 1   (slōō, slou)   
n.  

  1. A depression or hollow, usually filled with deep mud or mire.

  2. also slue A stagnant swamp, marsh, bog, or pond, especially as part of a bayou, inlet, or backwater.

  3. A state of deep despair or moral degradation.


[Middle English, from Old English slōh.]
slough'y adj.
slue 1 also slew   (slōō)   
v.   slued also slewed, slu·ing also slew·ing, slues also slews

v.   tr.

  1. To turn (something) on an axis; rotate: slued the swivel chair around; sluing the boom of a crane.

  2. To turn sharply; veer: braked and slued the car around.

v.   intr.

  1. To turn about an axis; pivot.

  2. To turn or slide sideways or off course; skid.

n.  

  1. The act of sluing.

  2. The position to which something has slued.


[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
slay

  1. tv.
    to overwhelm someone with one's performance or other excellence. : These jokes always slay the audience.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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slew

  1. in.
    to drink to intoxication. : They must have been slewing for an hour before one got up and left.
  2. n.
    and slews. a lot; lots. : I have a whole slew of old computer programs at home in a box somewhere.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
sluff (off)

and slough (off)
  1. in.
    to waste time; to goof off. : Watch him. He will sluff off if you don't keep after him.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
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  (n.1)
"swampy place," 1708, N.Amer. variant of slough.

slew  (v.)
"to turn, swing, twist," 1834, earlier slue (1769), a nautical word, of unknown origin. Slewed (1801) is old nautical slang for "drunk."

slew  (n.2)
"large number," 1839, from Ir. sluagh "a host, crowd, multitude."

slough  (v.)
"cast off" (as the skin of a snake or other animal), 1720, originally of diseased tissue, from M.E. noun meaning the skin thus cast off (c.1300), probably related to O.S. sluk "skin of a snake," M.H.G. sluch "snakeskin," M.L.G. slu "husk, peel, skin," from P.Gmc. *sluk-.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2slough
Function: intransitive verb
: to separate in the form of dead tissue from living tissue sloughing> sloughtransitive senses
: to cast off <slough dead tissue> sloughed>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source

slough (slŭf)
n.
A layer or mass of dead tissue separated from surrounding living tissue, as in a wound, a sore, or an inflammation. v. sloughed, slough·ing, sloughs
To separate from surrounding living tissue. Used of dead tissue.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
slough   (slŭf)  Pronunciation Key 
Noun   The dead outer skin shed by a reptile or an amphibian.

Verb   To shed an outer layer of skin.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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