SLEW

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does slew mean? 

• SLEW (noun)
  The noun SLEW has 1 sense:

1. (often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent

  Familiarity information: SLEW used as a noun is very rare.

• SLEW (verb)
  The verb SLEW has 2 senses:

1. turn sharply; change direction abruptly

2. move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner

  Familiarity information: SLEW used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SLEW (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

batch; deal; flock; good deal; great deal; hatful; heap; lot; mass; mess; mickle; mint; mountain; muckle; passel; peck; pile; plenty; pot; quite a little; raft; sight; slew; spate; stack; tidy sum; wad

Context example:

a wad of money

Hypernyms ("slew" is a kind of...):

large indefinite amount; large indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "slew"):

deluge; flood; inundation; torrent (an overwhelming number or amount)

haymow (a mass of hay piled up in a barn for preservation)

• SLEW (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Turn sharply; change direction abruptly

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

curve; cut; sheer; slew; slue; swerve; trend; veer

Context example:

The motorbike veered to the right

Hypernyms (to "slew" is one way to...):

turn (change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "slew"):

peel off (leave a formation)

yaw (swerve off course momentarily)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

skid; slew; slide; slip; slue

Context example:

the wheels skidded against the sidewalk

Hypernyms (to "slew" is one way to...):

glide (move smoothly and effortlessly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "slew"):

submarine (move forward or under in a sliding motion)

skid (slide without control)

side-slip (slide sideways through the air in a downward direction in an airplane along an inclined lateral axis)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

 Context examples 

I heard him once again when he slew a French squire with his teeth, he being unarmed and the Frenchman having a dagger.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

White Fang followed, sliding over the ground in wolf fashion and with wolf speed, swiftly and without noise, and in the centre of the field he dragged down and slew the dog.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Neptune is in your creativity sector (fifth house), so if you are tasked with creating important creative ideas, you certainly will generate a slew of them.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

But I saw thee not, that night, when all thy people—yea, even the boys not yet hunters—fell upon the Russians and slew them all.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

And he lent the king the wonderful sword, and he slew the enemy’s army with it; and thus the kingdom was once more in peace and plenty.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

“I strained a sinew on the day that I slew the three men at Castelnau.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You have a slew of planets stacked up in your ninth house, which rules the media, publishing, broadcasting, international travel and relationships, university study, and legal and philosophical matters—and all these areas will shine brilliantly for you for each will support your Taurus Sun sign.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

It was but the other day, upon the feasts of the blessed Simon and Jude, that he slew my younger brother William in Bere Forest—for which, by the black thorn of Glastonbury!

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Three archers he slew in three giant strokes, but Sir Oliver flung his arms round him, and the two, staggering and straining, reeled backwards and fell, locked in each other's grasp, over the edge of the steep cliff which flanked the hill.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Why, look you, in the affair at Brignais some four years back, when the companies slew James of Bourbon, and put his army to the sword, there was scarce a man of ours who had not count, baron, or knight.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)