slumlord

American

[sluhm-lawrd] / ˈslʌmˌlɔrd /

noun

a landlord who owns slum buildings, especially one who fails to maintain or improve the buildings and charges tenants exorbitant rents.

slumlord British

/ ˈslʌmˌlɔːd /

noun

informal an absentee landlord of slum property, esp one who profiteers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of slumlord

First recorded in 1950–55; slum + lord

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Well, he was allegedly a slumlord.

From Salon

It turned out that the story was made up by the slumlord who owned the building to excuse his neglect and some of the locals who had pumped up the story later recanted.

From Salon

He’s conniving, manipulative and has somehow incredibly managed to survive flying on the seat of some very thin pants since his father sent him out to collect rent as a budding slumlord.

From Salon

Whitney is the heiress to her parents’ slumlord fortune, a fact she pretends to distance herself from but can’t quite.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023