slay
verb /sleɪ/
/sleɪ/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they slay | /sleɪ/ /sleɪ/ |
| he / she / it slays | /sleɪz/ /sleɪz/ |
| past simple slew | /sluː/ /sluː/ |
| past participle slain | /sleɪn/ /sleɪn/ |
| -ing form slaying | /ˈsleɪɪŋ/ /ˈsleɪɪŋ/ |
- slay somebody/something (old-fashioned or literary) to kill somebody/something in a war or a fight
- St George slew the dragon.
- slay somebody (especially North American English) (used especially in newspapers) to murder somebody
- Two passengers were slain by the hijackers.
- slay somebody (old-fashioned, informal, especially North American English) to have a strong effect on somebody, especially to make them laugh
- Those old movies still slay me!
Word OriginOld English slēan ‘strike, kill’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch slaan and German schlagen.