What does “slay” mean?
- 1
verbto kill violently, especially in battle or in stories
The knight slew the dragon.
- 2
verb(informal) to impress or amuse someone very much
Her performance absolutely slayed.
Slay at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- C2 (proficient)
- Pronunciation
- /sleɪ/ · SLAY
- Forms
- slew, slain
How to use “slay” correctly
Literary for “kill”, and used in US news headlines. The past is “slew/slain”, but the informal sense uses “slayed”.
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- kill
- murder
“slay” is on these word lists
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