slay - slew - slain

  • 1slay´er — slay «slay», transitive verb, slew, slain, slay|ing. 1. to kill with violence: »A hunter slays wild animals. Jack slew the giant. Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands (I Samuel 18:7). SYNONYM(S) …

    Useful english dictionary

  • 2slay — [[t]sleɪ[/t]] v. slew, slain, slay•ing 1) to kill by violence 2) to destroy; extinguish 3) inf Slang. to impress strongly; overwhelm, esp. by humor: Your jokes slay me[/ex] 4) Obs. to strike 5) to kill or murder • Etymology: bef. 900; ME sleen,… …

    From formal English to slang

  • 3slay — slayable, adj. slayer, n. /slay/, v., slew, slain, slaying, n. v.t. 1. to kill by violence. 2. to destroy; extinguish. 3. sley. 4. Informal. to impress strongly; overwhelm, esp. by humor: Your jokes slay me …

    Universalium

  • 4Slew — Slay Slay, v. t. [imp. {Slew}; p. p. {Slain}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Slaying}.] [OE. slan, sl?n, sleen, slee, AS. sle[ a]n to strike, beat, slay; akin to OFries. sl[=a], D. slaan, OS. & OHG. slahan, G. schlagen, Icel. sl[=a], Dan. slaae, Sw. sl?, Goth …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 5Slain — Slay Slay, v. t. [imp. {Slew}; p. p. {Slain}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Slaying}.] [OE. slan, sl?n, sleen, slee, AS. sle[ a]n to strike, beat, slay; akin to OFries. sl[=a], D. slaan, OS. & OHG. slahan, G. schlagen, Icel. sl[=a], Dan. slaae, Sw. sl?, Goth …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 6slay — [ sleı ] (past tense slew [ slu ] ; past participle slain [ sleın ] ) verb transitive LITERARY to kill someone in a violent way: He was slain in battle in 673. a. INFORMAL to impress someone, especially by making them laugh: His jokes really slay …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 7Slay — Slay, v. t. [imp. {Slew}; p. p. {Slain}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Slaying}.] [OE. slan, sl?n, sleen, slee, AS. sle[ a]n to strike, beat, slay; akin to OFries. sl[=a], D. slaan, OS. & OHG. slahan, G. schlagen, Icel. sl[=a], Dan. slaae, Sw. sl?, Goth.… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 8slay — [slā] vt. SLEW or for 2 slayed, slain, slaying, slew [ME slean < OE < * slahan, akin to Ger schlagen, Du slagen < IE base * slak , to hit > MIr slacc, sword] 1. to kill or destroy in a violent way 2. Slang to impress, delight, amuse,… …

    English World dictionary

  • 9slay — [sleı] v past tense slew [slu:] past participle slain [sleın] [T] [: Old English; Origin: slean to hit, kill ] 1.) to kill someone used especially in newspapers 2.) AmE spoken informal to amuse someone a lot >slayer n …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 10slay — meaning ‘to kill’, has the past tense slew and the past participle slain. In BrE it has a literary flavour, but it is an ordinary word for violent killing in AmE, appearing in newspaper headlines such as Serial killer slays seven, which sometimes …

    Modern English usage