slay

[ sley ]

verb (used with object)

slew or slayed slayingslain

1. to kill by violence:

   In this game, your goal is to slay the evil dragon and take his hoard.

   Synonyms: assassinate, butcher, massacre, slaughter, murder

2. to destroy; extinguish:

   Together we are slaying our self-doubt and working towards our dreams.

   Synonyms: ruin, annihilate

3. Slang.
   1. to impress strongly and favorably; overwhelm, especially by humor:

      Your jokes slay me.

   2. to make a strong favorable impression with:

      She really slayed her performance last night.

4. sley ( def 4 ).
5. Obsolete. to strike.

verb (used without object)

slew or slayed slainslaying

1. to kill or murder.
2. Slang. to have a strong favorable effect; to be remarkably impressive:

   His whole album slays.

noun

1. sley ( def ).

slay

/ sleɪ /

verb

1. archaic.
   to kill, esp violently
2. slang.
   to impress (someone) sexually
3. obsolete.
   to strike

Derived Forms

• ˈslayer, noun

Other Word Forms

• slay·a·ble adjective
• slay·er noun
• un·slay·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slay¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English sleen, slayn, Old English slēan; cognate with Dutch slaan, German schlagen, Old Norse slā, Gothic slahan “to strike, beat”

Word History and Origins

Origin of slay¹

Old English slēan; related to Old Norse slā, Gothic, Old High German slahan to strike, Old Irish slacaim I beat

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. slay the day, to have a good or successful day:

   I woke up refreshed and ready to slay the day.

Example Sentences

On the night of the slayings, the brothers walked into their Beverly Hills mansion and shot their parents with shotguns they’d bought with cash.

From Los Angeles Times

Baker’s accomplice, Christopher Austin, also testified for the prosecution last month and insisted Baker told him Monica Sementilli had directed the slaying.

From Los Angeles Times

Baker acknowledged that he had tried to conceal Austin’s involvement in the slaying.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump and his gang prance around, pretending they’ve come to slay the bureaucratic Leviathan, to liberate the people from the tyranny of big government.

From Salon

She will be booked into custody in San Diego for murder, and the investigation into Marodi’s slaying remains ongoing, the release said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assassinate
• butcher
• destroy
• dispatch
• execute
• exterminate
• massacre
• murder
• slaughter