SLAY (slain, slew)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: slain    , slew   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does slay mean? 

• SLAY (verb)
  The verb SLAY has 1 sense:

1. kill intentionally and with premeditation

  Familiarity information: SLAY used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SLAY (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they slay    ... he / she / it slays   
Past simple: slew   
Past participle: slain   
-ing form: slaying   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Kill intentionally and with premeditation

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

bump off; dispatch; hit; murder; off; polish off; remove; slay

Context example:

The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered

Hypernyms (to "slay" is one way to...):

kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "slay"):

burke (murder without leaving a trace on the body)

execute (murder in a planned fashion)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot slay Sue

Derivation:

slayer (someone who causes the death of a person or animal)

slaying (unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being)

 Context examples 

“For my part, I have no wish to slay this young man,” said Tranter, wiping his heated brow.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Neptune is in your creativity sector (fifth house), so if you are tasked with creating important creative ideas, you certainly will generate a slew of them.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

It was the occasion when he was accused of slaying his younger brother and fled from the country.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Jekyll was now my city of refuge; let but Hyde peep out an instant, and the hands of all men would be raised to take and slay him.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

They had already slain two of the honest people; after Tom and Alan, might not I come next?

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Their hands did not falter any the more because those that they loved implored them to slay them.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

They are afraid of this Ghost Dog, for it has cunning greater than they, stealing from their camps in fierce winters, robbing their traps, slaying their dogs, and defying their bravest hunters.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

But I saw thee not, that night, when all thy people—yea, even the boys not yet hunters—fell upon the Russians and slew them all.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

White Fang followed, sliding over the ground in wolf fashion and with wolf speed, swiftly and without noise, and in the centre of the field he dragged down and slew the dog.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

And he lent the king the wonderful sword, and he slew the enemy’s army with it; and thus the kingdom was once more in peace and plenty.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)