slave 1 of 2

1
as in servant
a person who is considered the property of another person many American slaves reached freedom in the North through the network known as the Underground Railroad

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work unappreciated office slaves who perform the necessary but tedious task of filing paperwork

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

slave

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of slave
Noun
The memorial opened in April 2018 alongside the Legacy Museum, which is a mile away on the site of a former slave warehouse. Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 14 Mar. 2025 Among the historical figures buried there are two U.S. presidents, John F. Kennedy and William Howard Taft; Gen. Colin Powell, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Supreme Justice Thurgood Marshall; and boxer Joe Louis, a former world heavyweight champion and grandson of a slave. Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2025
Verb
During the latter half of that period, according to Marques’s review of British consular reports, more than one-third of all slaving vessels that made landfall in Rio de Janeiro did so under an American flag. Rafael Vilela, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024 In other words, spend your energies considering the ingredients rather than slaving over the method. Judy Bart Kancigor, Orange County Register, 18 Jan. 2024 See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
Noun
  • In 2010, a three-part revival of Upstairs, Downstairs aired on British broadcaster BBC One, with Marsh reprising her role as Rose Buck, who had returned to London to run an agency for domestic servants after a period spent nursing her mother in Suffolk.
    Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Few spoke up for the man viewed by many as a lowborn upstart, but Cromwell, his faithful servant, was the exception, petitioning Henry at great risk to his own reputation.
    Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Those who came to Ingersoll to establish a new life for themselves pursued jobs as laborers, barbers and waiters, among other professions.
    Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2025
  • New jobs for construction laborers--tasked with using, supplying or holding materials or tools and cleaning work areas and equipment on construction sites--are expected to increase by nearly 120,000 by 2033, with an annual growth rate of seven percent.
    Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Then there are interviews, scoops, and other kinds of highly specific reporting; a reporter might labor for months to unearth new information, only for A.I. to hoover it up and fold it into some bland summary.
    Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Tribal leaders have long labored to be treated as equals by American politicians.
    Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Hub is a second-generation bondsman, having followed in the footsteps of his acerbic mother — and, as a middle-aged divorcée, roommate — Kitty (Beth Grant).
    Alison Herman, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025
  • For example, Alabama proposes a system where defendants pay a portion of their bail directly to the court instead of going through a bail bondsman.
    Lisel Petis, Boston Herald, 29 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Learn More Auto workers face potential temporarily lay offs amid President Trump's new tariffs 02:17 Mr. Trump has previously reversed course on tariffs, causing upheaval in financial markets and leading economists to raise the odds of the U.S. economy entering a recession this year.
    CBS News, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2025
  • The coveted endorsements came from the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which represents building workers.
    Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • And their struggling offense is becoming a major concern.
    Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Behind her glamorous exterior, the real Dorothy was a closeted lesbian who struggled with substance abuse and was mistreated by the men within Hollywood’s studio system before ultimately committing suicide.
    Abby Monteil, Them., 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • If a cell harbors many black morphogens, for example, and a neighboring cell harbors few of them, then the molecules strive to move such that they are distributed as evenly as possible.
    Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 16 Apr. 2025
  • The school could strive for excellence and integrity while doing fewer things.
    Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Enslavers often viewed them as mere chattel and not worth the expense and effort of commissioning a painting.
    Kate McMahon, The Conversation, 3 Feb. 2025
  • The game is the system that keeps one as chattel for the other.
    Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on slave

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!