slather
Americanverb (used with object)
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to spread or apply thickly.
to slather butter on toast.
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to spread something thickly on (usually followed bywith ).
to slather toast with butter.
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to spend or use lavishly.
noun
idioms
noun
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informal (usually plural) a large quantity
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slang a situation in which there are no restrictions; free-for-all
verb
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to squander or waste
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to spread thickly or lavishly
Etymology
Origin of slather
1810–20, in sense “to slip, slide”; origin uncertain
Explanation
When you slather something, you apply or spread a lot of it. So you might slather your hamburger with ketchup, or slather shampoo on your damp head. Before it came to mean "spread liberally" in the nineteenth century, people in parts of England used slather to mean "slip or slide." Today we use this informal verb to describe smearing or rubbing, so we slather paint on a fence to cover up graffiti, slather aloe on our sunburnt skin, and slather peanut butter and jelly on bread.
Vocabulary lists containing slather
Mississippi Trial, 1955
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Piecing Me Together
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"For Black Girls Like Me" by Mariama J. Lockington, Part I
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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.
Avocados have become a staple in the diet of many Americans who slather the creamy fruit on toast and smash it up into guacamole.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2024
"Not even a hefty slather of make-up can hide the shocking state of Amy Winehouse's skin," reads one.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2024
When applying sunscreen, make sure to slather your feet, said Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton, an assistant professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 5, 2023
And you don’t have to slather yourself in sticky spray.
From New York Times • Jun. 3, 2023
And then, when she was done with my hair, forty-five minutes later, she told me she’d brought makeup in her traveling suitcase and wanted to slather that on my face too.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
