Slay
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /sleɪ/ · Part of speech verb
Quick meaning: Slay is a verb meaning (transitive, now literary) To kill; to murder.
Meaning
(transitive, now literary) To kill; to murder.
More Meanings
- (transitive, literary) To eradicate or stamp out.
- (transitive, by extension, hyperbolic, informal) To defeat; to overcome (in a competition or contest).
- (transitive, slang) To delight or overwhelm, especially with laughter.
- That slays (in any sense).
- (ambitransitive, chiefly African-American Vernacular and LGBTQ slang) To amaze, stun, or otherwise incapacitate by excellence; to excel at something.
- (slang) To have sex with.
- (chiefly African-American Vernacular and LGBTQ slang) Something excellent, amazing, or fashionable.
Example Sentences
The knight slew the dragon.
Our foes must all be slain.
You must slay these thoughts.
Slay not your children, fearing a fall to poverty, We shall provide for them and for you. Lo! the slaying of them is great sin.
Word Forms
- slays
- slaying
- slayed
- slain
Synonyms for slay
Depending on context, synonyms include annihilate, bag, baptize, blight, bump off, bury.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include bump off, murder, remove, hit, dispatch, kill.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.