slash

1 of 3

verb

slashed; slashing; slashes

intransitive verb

: to lash out, cut, or thrash about with or as if with an edged blade

transitive verb

1
: to cut with or as if with rough sweeping strokes
2
: cane, lash
3
: to cut slits in (something, such as a garment) so as to reveal a color beneath
4
: to criticize cuttingly
5
: to reduce sharply : cut

slash

2 of 3

noun (1)

1
: the act of slashing
also : a long cut or stroke made by or as if by slashing
2
: an ornamental slit in a garment
3
a
: an open tract in a forest strewn with debris (as from logging)
b
: the debris in such a tract
4
: a mark / used typically to denote "or" (as in and/or), "and or" (as in straggler/deserter), or "per" (as in feet/second)

called also diagonal, slant, solidus, virgule

5
or slash fiction : a genre of fan fiction which features a romantic pairing of two usually male fictional characters who are not romantically connected in the original work of fiction
If women are the prime producers of the stuff, one would imagine that slash would be as full of male-female fantasies as male-male fantasies, but that's not the case.Owen Smith
Here's a sampling of Harry Potter slash, taken from a novella called "Irresistible Poison," about a budding romance between Harry and his archenemy Draco Malfoy.Christopher Noxon
I don't know whether Moody has read Kirk/Spock slash fiction, either, but I bet he's heard of it …Elizabeth Hand

slash

3 of 3

noun (2)

: a low swampy area often overgrown with brush

Examples of slash in a Sentence

Verb Someone slashed his car's tires. He threatened to slash the man's throat. She slashed a path through the underbrush. They slashed their way through the jungle. The company has slashed prices to increase sales. Funding for the program was slashed.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
And fund-raising Web sites such as ActBlue and WinRed slashed the overhead costs of harvesting millions of dollars in small increments, one click at a time. David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2024 Just this week, Tesla slashed the price of its more advanced driver assistance feature, called Full Self-Driving, by a third, to $8,000. Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 26 Apr. 2024 If a recent proposal to turn an empty warehouse into a giant homeless shelter fails, a project that would require large sums from multiple sources, perhaps even the commission, the agency is formally asking that its budget not be slashed. Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2024 Billionaire media mogul and proprietor Rupert Murdoch earlier this month had to slash the price of his Manhattan penthouse nearly 40% to $38.5 million. Sydney Lake, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2024 First listed in June 2022 with a nearly $20 million asking price, the 11,000-square-foot Mediterranean villa-style manor eventually saw its price tag slashed all the way down to $14 million. James McClain, Robb Report, 24 Apr. 2024 Police interviewed Gabe’s boyfriend — a tow truck driver who met her in December 2021 after someone slashed Gabe’s tires — who was cooperative but couldn’t account for her whereabouts, police said. Judith Prieve, The Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2024 Prices across other countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa — areas where, as of last week, Musk now oversees Tesla sales — have also been slashed, Reuters reported. William Gavin, Quartz, 22 Apr. 2024 Starting with the best deal, this Dutch oven is currently slashed by 48 percent in a gorgeous light blue color. Isabel Garcia, Peoplemag, 14 Apr. 2024
Noun
Crossbody bags similar in style to what celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Taylor Swift, and Oprah carry, totes, belt bags, backpacks, and wallets in pretty spring-ready hues and patterns have their slashes priced right now. Mia Huelsbeck, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024 The lid has been changed from the LED dot matrix of the past to a chic diagonal metallic slash. PCMAG, 27 Mar. 2024 Forty years ago, four men put on uniforms, came up with a catchy logo — a startled specter in a red circle with a slash going through it, no big whoop — strapped on some proton packs and saved New York City from an evil deity holed up in a penthouse. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2024 When the Broncos appeared as a 10 seed with a slash next to Colorado, indicating the play-in game Wednesday, there were gasps followed by eerie silence. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2024 David Tepper Who doesn’t want to dress like a hedge fund billionaire slash Carolina Panthers owner? Katie Toussaint, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024 Best Presidents' Day Sales: Beauty Starting strong with makeup products seeing price slashes ahead of Presidents' Day: Too Faced, MAC, and Freck. Sarah Han, Allure, 7 Feb. 2024 The Bottega Veneta Fall-Winter 2023 runway look was customized for the starlet with a chic midriff slash — continuing Zendaya’s growing trend of ab-framing outfits — and a full-length hemline. Leah Dolan, CNN, 9 Feb. 2024 Even before the industry was facing a potential deluge of second-hand rental cars, customers were blighted with product recalls and said they were ‘duped’ by overnight price slashes as rival brands fight to remain price competitive. Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slash.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

origin unknown

Noun (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Verb

1548, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (1)

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1652, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of slash was in 1548

Dictionary Entries Near slash

Cite this Entry

“Slash.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slash. Accessed 1 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

slash

1 of 2 verb
1
: to cut by sweeping and pointless blows
2
: to whip or strike with or as if with a cane
3
: to criticize without mercy
4
: to cut slits in (as a skirt) to reveal a different color or material
5
: to reduce sharply : cut
slash prices
slasher noun

slash

2 of 2 noun
1
: the act of slashing
also : a long cut or stroke made by slashing
2
: an ornamental slit in a garment
3
: a mark / used to mean "or" (as in and/or), "and or" (as in bottles/cans), or "per" (as in kilometers/hour)

More from Merriam-Webster on slash

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