slew

1 of 4

noun

: a large number
a slew of books

slew

2 of 4

past tense of slay

slew

3 of 4

verb

variants or less commonly slue
slewed also slued; slewing also sluing; slews also slues

transitive verb

1
: to turn (something, such as a telescope or a ship's spar) about a fixed point that is usually the axis
2
: to cause to skid : veer
slew a car around a turn

intransitive verb

1
: to turn, twist, or swing about : pivot
2
: skid

slew

4 of 4

less common spelling of slough entry 1 sense 1b

Did you know?

Slew appeared as an American colloquialism in the early 19th century. Its origins are unclear, but it is perhaps taken from the Irish slua, a descendant of Old Irish slúag, meaning "army," "host," or "throng." Slew has several homographs (words that are spelled alike but different in meaning, derivation, or pronunciation) in English. These include: slew as the past tense of the verb slay; slew as a spelling variant of slough, a word which is also commonly pronounced \SLOO\ and which means "swamp," "an inlet on a river," or "a creek in a marsh or tide flat"; and the verb slew, meaning "to turn, veer, or skid."

Examples of slew in a Sentence

Noun He has written a slew of books. we still have a slew of work to do on this project Verb He slewed the telescope three degrees south.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The real estate sector — once accounted for more than a quarter of China’s economy — had been in a painful downturn since 2021, when Beijing launched a crackdown on the sector’s high debt levels, sending a slew of developers to default on their debts and leave many housing projects unfinished. Anniek Bao, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2024 Adobe Max 2024 had a slew of announcements this year – from demos of previous years going live to experimental features, there was a lot to take in. Prakhar Khanna, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024 Although the building has a slew of five-star amenities, the secondary bedrooms are easily converted into a gym, yoga studio, or office to create an epic primary suite. Emma Reynolds, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2024 The upcoming weekend sees a slew of high profile releases. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for slew 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slew.' 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

Noun

perhaps from Irish slua army, host, throng, from Old Irish slúag; akin to Lithuanian slaugyti to tend

Verb

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

1839, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1769, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of slew was circa 1769

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Dictionary Entries Near slew

Cite this Entry

“Slew.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slew. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

slew

1 of 4
ˈslü

past of slay

slew

2 of 4

variant of slough entry 1 sense 1

slew

3 of 4 verb
variants also slue
: to turn, twist, or swing about especially out of a course : veer

slew

4 of 4 noun
: a large number

More from Merriam-Webster on slew

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