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
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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
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as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
slaving over a hot stove
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Examples of slave in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
TIME, 5 Sep. 2024
New York City itself housed one of the largest urban slave populations in North America: Around four in ten households in the city held people in bondage as domestic servants, carriage drivers, laundresses and dock workers.
—Carolyn Eastman, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Sep. 2024
Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
But their reassurances tend to fall on deaf ears, as Hannah stays up late each night slaving over dresses her mean-spirited boss will likely dismiss with a sneer.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for slave 
Noun
Founded in 1865, the Freedmen’s Bureau provided aid to recently emancipated slaves.
—TIME, 5 Sep. 2024
New York City itself housed one of the largest urban slave populations in North America: Around four in ten households in the city held people in bondage as domestic servants, carriage drivers, laundresses and dock workers.
—Carolyn Eastman, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Sep. 2024
Verb
Instead, Christie ended up a supplicant, slaving for Trump’s transition team before finally getting murked by a Jared Kushner bent on settling family business.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
But their reassurances tend to fall on deaf ears, as Hannah stays up late each night slaving over dresses her mean-spirited boss will likely dismiss with a sneer.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Mar. 2023
See all Example Sentences for slave
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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