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slug - 14 dictionary results

slug

1  [sluhg] noun, verb, slugged, slug⋅ging.
Use slug in a Sentence
–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.
a. a thick strip of type metal less than type-high.
b. such a strip containing a type-high number or other character for temporary use.
c. 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.
a. Also called catchline. a short phrase or title used to indicate the story content of newspaper or magazine copy.
b. 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 lb. (15 kg) 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.
–verb (used with object)
15. Printing.
a. to make (corrections) by replacing entire lines of type, esp. as set by a Linotype.
b. to check the lines of (typeset copy) against copy of the previous typesetting stage to ensure that no line has been omitted, esp. before printing or plating.
16. Journalism. to furnish (copy) with a slug.
17. to interpolate pieces of metal into (a joint being welded).
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME slugge sluggard < Scand; cf. Norw (dial.) sluggje heavy, slow person

Related forms:
sluglike, adjective

slug

2  [sluhg] verb, slugged, slug⋅ging, noun Informal.
–verb (used with object)
1. to strike heavily; hit hard, esp. with the fist.
2. to hit or drive (a baseball) very hard or a great distance.
–verb (used without object)
3. to hit or be capable of hitting hard.
4. to trudge, fight, or push onward, as against obstacles or through mud or snow: The infantry slugged up the hill and dug in.
–noun
5. a hard blow or hit, esp. with a fist or baseball bat.
—Idiom
6. slug it out,
a. to fight, esp. with fists, until a decisive victory has been achieved.
b. to succeed or survive by constant and intense struggle.
Origin:
1820–30; orig. in phrase hit with a slug; see slug 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To slug
slug 1   (slŭg)   
n.  
  1. A round bullet larger than buckshot.
  2. Informal
    1. A shot of liquor.
    2. An amount of liquid, especially liquor, that is swallowed in one gulp; a swig.
    3. A strip of type metal, less than type-high and thicker than a lead, used for spacing.
    4. A line of cast type in a single strip of metal.
    5. A compositor's type line of identifying marks or instructions, inserted temporarily in copy.
  3. A small metal disk for use in a vending or gambling machine, especially one used illegally.
  4. A lump of metal or glass prepared for further processing.
  5. Printing
    1. A strip of type metal, less than type-high and thicker than a lead, used for spacing.
    2. A line of cast type in a single strip of metal.
    3. A compositor's type line of identifying marks or instructions, inserted temporarily in copy.
  6. Physics The unit of mass that is accelerated at the rate of one foot per second per second when acted on by a force of one pound weight.
tr.v.   slugged, slug·ging, slugs
  1. Printing To add slugs to.
  2. Informal To drink rapidly or in large gulps: slugged down a can of pop.

[Perhaps from slug2 (from its shape).]
slug 2   (slŭg)   
n.  
  1. Any of various small, snaillike, chiefly terrestrial gastropod mollusks of the genus Limax and related genera, having a slow-moving elongated body with no shell or only a flat rudimentary shell on or under the skin.
  2. The smooth soft larva of certain insects, such as the sawfly.
  3. A slimy mass of aggregated amoeboid cells from which the sporophore of a cellular slime mold develops.
  4. Informal A sluggard.

[Middle English slugge, sluggard, probably of Scandinavian origin.]
slug 3   (slŭg)   
tr.v.   slugged, slug·ging, slugs
To strike heavily, especially with the fist or a bat.
n.  A hard heavy blow, as with the fist or a baseball bat.

[Possibly from slug1.]
slug 4   (slŭg)   
intr.v.   slugged, slug·ging, slugs
To wait for or obtain a ride to work by standing at a roadside hoping to be picked up by a driver who needs another passenger to use the HOV lanes of a highway.
n.  A commuter who slugs.

[Probably from slug2.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slug

Slug\, n. [OE. slugge slothful, sluggen to be slothful; cf. LG. slukk low-spirited, sad, E. slack, slouch, D. slak, slek, a snail.]

1. A drone; a slow, lazy fellow; a sluggard. --Shak.

2. A hindrance; an obstruction. [Obs.] --Bacon.

3. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of terrestrial pulmonate mollusks belonging to Limax and several related genera, in which the shell is either small and concealed in the mantle, or altogether wanting. They are closely allied to the land snails.

4. (Zo["o]l.) Any smooth, soft larva of a sawfly or moth which creeps like a mollusk; as, the pear slug; rose slug.

5. A ship that sails slowly. [Obs.] --Halliwell.

His rendezvous for his fleet, and for all slugs to come to, should be between Calais and Dover. --Pepys.

6. [Perhaps a different word.] An irregularly shaped piece of metal, used as a missile for a gun.

7. (Print.) A thick strip of metal less than type high, and as long as the width of a column or a page, -- used in spacing out pages and to separate display lines, etc.

Sea slug. (Zo["o]l.) (a) Any nudibranch mollusk. (b) A holothurian.

Slug caterpillar. Same as Slugworm.

Slug

Slug\, v. i. To move slowly; to lie idle. [Obs.]

To slug in sloth and sensual delight. --Spenser.

Slug

Slug\, v. t. To make sluggish. [Obs.] --Milton.

Slug

Slug\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Slugged; p. pr. & vb. n. Slugging.]

1. To load with a slug or slugs; as, to slug a gun.

2. To strike heavily. [Cant or Slang]

Slug

Slug\, v. i. To become reduced in diameter, or changed in shape, by passing from a larger to a smaller part of the bore of the barrel; -- said of a bullet when fired from a gun, pistol, or other firearm.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : slug
Spanish: babosa,
German: die Wegschnecke,
Japanese: なめくじ
More Translations »

slug  (1)
"shell-less land snail," 1704, originally "lazy person" (1408); related to sluggard.

slug  (2)
"lead bit," 1622, perhaps a special use of slug (1) with reference to its shape. Meaning "token or counterfeit coin" first recorded 1881; meaning "strong drink" first recorded 1756, perhaps from slang fire a slug "take a drink," though it also may be related to Ir. slog "swallow."

slug  (3)
"a hard blow," 1830, dialectal, perhaps related to slaughter, slay, etc. The verb is recorded from 1862. Slugger first recorded 1877; slugfest is from 1916.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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