slew1
/sluː
/(also slue)
verb
1 [no object, with adverbial of direction] Turn or slide violently or uncontrollably: [no object]: the Renault slewed from side to side in the snow [with object]: he slewed the aircraft round before it settled on the runway...
- As the waiting travellers watched in frozen horror, it slewed crazily to one side as it carried on towards them, wrecking the parapets and heading broadside for the station.
- As soon as it touched the ground, the other engine cut out and the plane slewed off the runway before coming to rest on the grass.
- He slipped, slewed, shimmied, and then gracefully rolled to a stop at the bottom.
2 [no object] (Of an electronic device) undergo slewing.The telescope slewed to the coordinates as soon as it received the alert and within seven minutes of the start of the burst, it began observations....
- Today's announcement marks the first BAT detection autonomously followed by XRT detection, demonstrating the satellite is swiftly slewing as planned.
- ZHS-Zero House Swing - Sometimes incorrectly called zero tail swing, this means that the house and counterweights stay within the machine's width during slewing.
noun [in singular]
A violent or uncontrollable sliding movement: I was assaulted by the thump and slew of the van...
- It is preferred that the control means be adapted to adjust automatically the slew of the discharge boom relative to the hopper car.
- One object of the invention is to dynamically reduce resistance in order to decrease the time constant during the signal transition for allowing a more rapid slew of the signal from one logic state to another.
Origin
Mid 18th century (originally in nautical use): of unknown origin.
Rhymes
slew2
/sluː/ Past of slay1.
slew3
/sluː/noun informal, chiefly North American
A large number or quantity of something: he asked me a slew of questions...
- Normally there would have been a slew of scores around 37-35 but under the wet conditions, the ball just did not travel as most expected.
- None of the batsmen could top 31, and a slew of single-digit scores saw them slump to 107 all out.
- Every few minutes whistles sounded and the workers left the hill as a slew of garbage came raining down, erecting the pile higher again.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from Irish sluagh.