slam on the brakes
slam on the brakes verb: to press down hard on the brakes of a vehicle in order to make it stop suddenly.
Verb
slam on the brakes (third-person singular simple present slams on the brakes, present participle slamming on the brakes, simple past and past participle slammed on the brakes)
- To press down hard on the brakes of a vehicle in order to make it stop suddenly.
- Driving 2-6-2 locomotive No. 4771 Green Arrow, Blunt suddenly noticed that the tunnel mouth was silhouetted in a dazzling white glare and that incendiary bombs were showering down in their hundreds, he slammed on all his brakes and brought his train to a stop just inside the tunnel.1944 July and August, “Top Link Drivers: XXI—Driver H. Blunt, L.N.E.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 226
- Synonyms:
- jam on the brakes
- To abruptly halt any activity or progress, especially due to problems or financial reasons.
Synonyms of slam on the brakes
Forms of slam on the brakes
| third-person singular present | slams on the brakes |
|---|---|
| present participle | slamming on the brakes |
| past participle | slammed on the brakes |
| past | slammed on the brakes |
Questions about slam on the brakes
- What does slam on the brakes mean?
- Slam on the brakes means to press down hard on the brakes of a vehicle in order to make it stop suddenly.
- What part of speech is slam on the brakes?
- Slam on the brakes is a verb.
- What is the past tense of slam on the brakes?
- The past tense of slam on the brakes is slammed on the brakes.
Words near slam on the brakes in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: slam on the brakes (page history and authors). 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.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “slam on the brakes.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/slam_on_the_brakes. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.