slammed; slamming

transitive verb

1
: to shut forcibly and noisily : bang
2
a
: to set or slap down violently or noisily
slammed down the phone
b
: to propel, thrust, or produce by or as if by striking hard
slam on the brakes
slammed the car into a wall
3
: to strike or beat hard : knock
4
: to criticize harshly

intransitive verb

1
: to make a banging noise
2
: to function (as in moving) with emphatic and usually noisy vigor
the hurricane slammed into the coast
slammed out of the room
3
: to utter verbal abuse or harsh criticism

slam

2 of 3

noun (1)

1
a
: a noisy violent closing
b
: a banging noise
especially : one made by the slam of a door
2
: a heavy blow or impact
3
: a poetry competition performed before judges
4
: a cutting or violent criticism
5

slam

3 of 3

noun (2)

Examples of slam in a Sentence

Verb He slammed the door in my face. She slammed the drawer shut. He stepped inside and let the door slam behind him.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
But as the aircraft was climbing back into the air, the left wing of the twin-jet slammed into the runway. Elizabeth Keogh, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2025 According to this story, when the solar system was just getting started, a Mars-size protoplanet named Theia slammed into the proto-Earth. Paul Sutter, Space.com, 17 Mar. 2025
Noun
Last July, Bintou Keita, special representative for Congo to the United Nations Secretary-General, read an extract from a piece by a Goma slam poet in front of the U.N. Security Council. Patricia Huon, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Mar. 2025 But Randle, who powered Minnesota’s first-half offensive explosion, came sprinting in for the putback slam to send Orlando to a timeout and Target Center to its feet. Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for slam

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian slamre to bang, Swedish slamra to rattle

Noun (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Verb

circa 1691, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3

Noun (1)

1672, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of slam was in 1660

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Slam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slam. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

slam

1 of 2 verb
slammed; slamming
1
: to strike or beat hard
2
: to shut with force and noise : bang
slammed the door
3
: to set or slap down violently or noisily
slammed the books down on the table
4
: to make a banging noise
5
: to criticize harshly

slam

2 of 2 noun
1
: a heavy blow
2
a
: a noisy violent closing
b
: a banging noise especially from the slamming of a door
3
: a cutting or violent criticism

More from Merriam-Webster on slam

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