Word.ws English Dictionary

slam

UK/ˈslæm/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British/ˈslam/

slam verb: to shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.

Verb (1)

slam (third-person singular simple present slams, present participle slamming, simple past and past participle slammed)

  1. (ergative, transitive) To shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.
    • Don't slam the door!
    • Britain’s borders: wide open to Covid, slammed shut for people in need [title]2021 May 19, George Monbiot, “Britain’s borders: wide open to Covid, slammed shut for people in need”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
  2. (ergative, transitive) To put in or on a particular place with force and loud noise. (Often followed by a preposition such as down, against or into.)
    • Don't slam that trunk down on the pavement!
    • The New South Wales police commissioner has defended the officer who was filmed slamming an Indigenous boy face-first on to a pavement in Sydney, saying the officer “had a bad day”.2020 June 3, Michael McGowan, “NSW police commissioner says officer who slammed Indigenous teen to ground ‘had a bad day’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
  3. (ambitransitive) To strike forcefully with some implement.
    • But Wolves went in front when Steven Fletcher headed in Stephen Hunt's cross and it was 2-0 when Geoffrey Mujangi Bia slammed in his first for the club.2011 January 18, “Wolverhampton 5 - 0 Doncaster”, in BBC
  4. (intransitive) To strike against suddenly and heavily.
    • The boat slammed into the bank and we were almost thrown into the river.
    • The 6-ton fishing boat Kuanghua 15638 was slammed by the communist vessel near the Liuchuan reefs off the coast of Chukuang and drifted toward Nanchu after the collision.1978 January 5 [1977 December 30], “PRC Vessel Collides with ROC Fishing Boat off Matsu”, in Daily Report: Asia & Pacific, volume IV, number 3, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, →ISSN, →OCLC...
  5. (slang, transitive) To strike and take the life of or at least incapacitate for some time.
    • They want me nicked, they want me slammed
      Fuckin' snitch had me on remand2020 April 15, Tremz, “Lightwork Freestyle”
  6. (slang, transitive) To defeat or overcome in a match.
    • The Armenian football team has slammed the Turks 6–0.
  7. (colloquial, transitive) To speak badly of; to criticize forcefully.
    • Don't ever slam me in front of the boss like that again!
    • Union leaders slammed the new proposals.
    Antonyms:
    back, support
  8. To compete in a poetry slam.
  9. (intransitive) To slam-dance.
  10. To dunk forcefully, to slam dunk.
  11. (transitive) To move a customer from one service provider to another without their consent.
  12. (transitive) To drink off, to drink quickly.
    • 17 slam some go juice Big project this afternoon? In stressful situations, glucose-rich drinks improve mood and mental performance, say Dutch researchers.2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 134
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (ambitransitive, slang) To inject intravenously; shoot up.
    • I mentioned earlier how many people will draw lines in the sand that they'll never cross: some won't try Tina, others will never slam.2017, James Wharton, Something for the Weekend, Biteback Publishing, →ISBN
    Synonyms:
    bang
  2. (slang, transitive, vulgar) To perform coitus upon forcefully; to rail.
    • Your bird's textin' me
      'Tremzy is the man,'
      You be tryna call her but she's busy gettin' slammed
      The way she's gettin' doggied you would think she's tryna dance2015, Tremz, “Sketty Bums Get Wild”
  3. (US, informal) To occupy and busy with a high workload.
    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:slam. And Citations:slammed.
  4. (intransitive) Of a chaffinch: to produce a certain forceful trilling sound.
    • Slamming was formerly disregarded, not being considered a good property, as birds singing their natural note (those caught after moulting in the fields) were distinctly designated rough slamming birds.1860, Dwight's Journal of Music: A Paper of Art and Literature, page 316

Noun (1)

slam (countable and uncountable, plural slams)

  1. (countable) A sudden impact or blow.
    • How many slams in an old screen door? / Depends how loud you shut it.1981, Shel Silverstein, “How Many, How Much”, in A Light in the Attic, Harper & Row
  2. (countable) The shock and noise produced by violently closing a door or other object.
    • The slam and the scowl were lost upon Sam.1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 35, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC
  3. (countable) A slam dunk.
  4. (countable) One of the competitions of the yearly Grand Slam events.
  5. (US, colloquial, countable) An insult.
    • I don't mean this as a slam, but you can be really impatient sometimes.
    • “Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
  6. (UK, dialectal, uncountable) The yellow iron silicate produced in alum works as a waste product.
  7. A poetry slam.
  8. A slambook.
    • Regular friendship books had a variety of variations, such as slams, crams, and decos.2017, Mark Duffett, Fan Identities and Practices in Context: Dedicated to Music, page 194
    • Pen pals also make and pass around friendship books, slams and crams. In recent years, pen pal correspondence with prison inmates has gained acceptance on the Internet.2019, Manjit Bal, Lovingly Yours - Penpals
  9. (uncountable) A subgenre of death metal with elements of hardcore punk focusing on midtempo rhythms, breakdowns and palm-muted riffs.

Noun (2)

slam (countable and uncountable, plural slams)

  1. (obsolete, uncountable) A type of card game, also called ruff and honours.
  2. A card game, played all at once without separate turns, in which players attempt to get rid of their cards as quickly as possible according to certain rules.
    Synonyms:
    spit
  3. (countable) Losing or winning all the tricks in a game.
  4. (countable) A bid of six (small slam) or seven (grand slam) in a suit or no trump.
  5. (countable) Winning all (or all but one) of the available, major or specified events in a given year or sports season.
    • In the 125 Grand Prix, I. D. Fuller (4) made it a grand slam by setting the fastest time trial, winning his heat and getting the checkered flag in the final.1955 August, “Carolina Grand Prix Benefits Crippled Children”, in American Motorcyclist, volume 9, number 8, page 21
    • I have never been a fan of tennis, I'll be honest, but even I can appreciate a great tennis player when I see one, and one of the finest of all was the American champion, Andre Agassi. Agassi was at one time number one in the world. He won eight grand slam titles (including a Wimbledon title) and a...2012, Mark Stibbe, I am Your Father: What every heart needs to know, →ISBN, page 178

Verb (2)

slam (third-person singular simple present slams, present participle slamming, simple past and past participle slammed)

  1. (transitive) To defeat (opponents at cards) by winning all the tricks of a deal or a hand.
    • D having seven Spades in his Hand wins them, and consequently slams A and B1742, Edmond Hoyle, A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist
  2. (intransitive) To make a slam bid.

Noun (3)

slam (plural slams)

  1. (obsolete) A shambling fellow.

Noun (4) capitalized: SLAM

SLAM (countable and uncountable, plural SLAMs)

  1. (abbreviation, initialism, uncountable) Initialism of simultaneous localization and mapping.
  2. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of supersonic low altitude missile.
  3. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of stand-off land attack missile.

slam meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

slam in Hindi

स्लेम करना, स्लैम करना

slam in Tamil

ஸ்லாம் செய்ய

slam in Marathi

स्लॅम करण्यासाठी, स्लॅम करणे

slam in Urdu

سلیم کرنا
More languagesFewer languages
slam in Bengali
স্ল্যাম করা, স্ল্যাম করতে, স্ল্যাম করার জন্য
slam in Telugu
స్లామ్ చేయడానికి, స్లామ్ చెయ్యడానికి
slam in Malayalam
സ്ലാം ചെയ്യാൻ, സ്ലാം ചെയ്യുക
slam in Kannada
ಸ್ಲ್ಯಾಮ್ ಮಾಡಲು, ಸ್ಲ್ಯಾಮ್ ಮಾಡುವುದು
slam in Punjabi
ਸਲੈਮ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ, ਸਲੈਮ ਕਰਨਾ
slam in Gujarati
સ્લેમ કરવા માટે, સ્લેમ કરવા, સ્લેમ કરવું
slam in Odia
ସ୍ଲାମ୍ କରିବା ପାଇଁ, ସ୍ଲାମ କରିବା ପାଇଁ, ସ୍ଲାମ୍ କରିବା
slam in Nepali
स्ल्याम गर्न, स्लाम गर्न, स्ल्याम गर्नाका लागि
slam in Thai
คำดูถูก

Examples of slam in a sentence

  • Critics slammed the new film, calling it violent and meaningless.
  • Seven people were killed and 66 injured after a High Speed Train slammed into a stationary vehicle that had been parked across the main line by a suicidal driver.2021 February 24, Paul Stephen, “Level crossings are one of our key risk areas”, in RAIL, number 925, page 46:
  • For years we have kept our mouths shut about Rita Mae, always reluctant to slam one of our own, particularly one who used to be pretty good.1988 December 11, Susana Darwin, “Keep Editing, Rita Mae”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 22, page 8:
  • On Twitter, United We Dream, an immigrant youth-led rights group, slammed Biden’s new policy “a racist and classist attack” on migrants.2023 January 8, Edwin Rios, “Biden’s ‘carrot and stick’ approach to deter migrants met with anger”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
  • He won eight grand slam titles (including a Wimbledon title) and a gold medal in the Olympic Games.2012, Mark Stibbe, I am Your Father: What every heart needs to know, →ISBN, page 178:

All 40 example sentences with slam

Synonyms of slam

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of slam

Forms of slam

Verb
third-person singular presentslams
present participleslamming
past participleslammed
pastslammed
Noun
pluralslams
pluralSLAMs

Past tense of slam: slammed

Plural of slam: slams

Origin of slam

From Middle English *slammen (not recorded), apparently from a Scandinavian source ultimately from Old Norse slæma, slœma (“to slam, swing a weapon, strike an object out of reach”), related to Old Norse slamra, slambra (“to slam”). Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål slamre (“to slam”), Swedish slamra (“to pound, beat, make a clatter, rattle”), Norwegian Nynorsk slamra (“to sway, dangle”).

Unknown and long-speculated, though perhaps at least reinforced by Etymology 1. Doublet of chelem.

Compare Dutch slomp, German Schlampe.

Words formed from slam

Phrases with slam

15 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with slam

47 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about slam

What does slam mean?
Slam means to shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.
What is slam in Hindi?
Slam in Hindi is स्लेम करना, स्लैम करना. See Slam meaning in Hindi.
How do you use slam in a sentence?
Critics slammed the new film, calling it violent and meaningless.
What part of speech is slam?
Slam can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce slam?
Slam is pronounced /ˈslæm/ (UK).
What is the past tense of slam?
The past tense of slam is slammed.

Words near slam in the dictionary

  1. slalomers
  2. slaloming
  3. slalomist
  4. slalomists
  5. slaloms
  6. slam
  7. slam back
  8. slam book
  9. slam books
  10. slam dance
  11. slam danced

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: slam (page history and authors); SLAM (page history and authors); slam (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slam (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-slam.wav, En-au-slam.ogg.

Cite this entry: “slam.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/slam. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.