slew
/sl(j)uː/
slew noun: the act, or process of slewing. Also the alternative spelling of slough.
Noun (1)
slew (plural slews)
- The act, or process of slewing.
- A device used for slewing.
- A change of position.
- Bond automatically slammed the brakes full on and braced all his sinews against the wheel to correct the inevitable slew to the left, but he only kept control for a split second.1953, Ian Fleming, “Black Hare and Grey Hound”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 109
Verb
slew (third-person singular simple present slews, present participle slewing, simple past and past participle slewed)
- To rotate or turn something about its axis.
- His gunnery officer, Lieutenant Commander William R. D. Nickelson, Jr., preferred to respond with other hardware. At once he shouted into his headset mike: "Fuck that! Open fire!" His assistant, Lloyd Mustin, was recording accurate ranges from the narrowcasting fire-control radar and didn't need...2011, James D. Hornfischer, “28: Into the Light”, in Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN, retrieved 21 Nov 2022, pages 273–274
- To veer a vehicle.
- As the 5th Battle Squadron comes into the range of the High Seas Fleet, Admiral Evan-Thomas, who, so far, has dutifully followed Beatty's orders (or lack of them), has finally had just about enough. He can see the danger, plain as day, as the High Seas Fleet's leading elements open up a barrage...2020 July 15, Drachinifel, 1:04:58 from the start, in The Battle of Jutland - Clash of the Titans - Part 1 (Beatty vs Hipper), archived from the original on 15 Oct 2022
- To insert extra ticks or skip some ticks of a clock to slowly correct its time.
- To pivot.
- To skid.
- To move something (usually a railway line) sideways.
- The single line was slewed onto the disused up formation to make way for the future redoubling.
- Treforest: The track has been slewed to create space for the new island station platform at Treforest Estate, on the Cardiff-Merthyr line.2022 November 16, Howard Johnston, “Regional News: Wales”, in RAIL, number 970, page 27
- To make a public mockery of someone through insult or wit.
Noun (2)
slew (plural slews)
- A large amount.
- She has a slew of papers and notebooks strewn all over her desk.
- There has been a slew of documents about Scottish transport planning in recent weeks.2021 February 24, Philip Haigh, “A shift from cars: Scotland's railways are friends of electric!”, in RAIL, number 915, page 30
- A crowd or large number of people.
- Synonyms:
- multitude, throng, assemblage, congregation, crowd, flock, horde, huddle, legion, mass
Also used as
slew is also the alternative spelling of slough.
slew is also the simple past of slay.
slew meaning in Vietnamese
slew in Vietnamese
- a large amount
- đống
Examples of slew in a sentence
- Mustin, controlling the after trio of five-inch mounts, and Nickelson slewed their directors onto the lights and opened fire immediately.2011, James D. Hornfischer, “28: Into the Light”, in Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN...
- He therefore issues his own squadron orders to expect to have to make sudden course changes and to follow his lead, before ordering the wheel hard over and slewing Barham around.2020 July 15, Drachinifel, 1:04:58 from the start, in The Battle of Jutland - Clash of the Titans - Part 1 (Beatty vs Hipper), archived...
Synonyms of slew
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of slew
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | slews |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | slews |
| present participle | slewing |
| past participle | slewed |
| past | slewed |
Origin of slew
In all senses, a mostly British spelling of slue.
Attested since at least 1708, a North American variant of slough.
Ablaut of slay, from Middle English slew, sleugh, past of Middle English sleen. Replaced earlier Middle English slough, slogh, from Old English slōg (past of Old English slēan (“to hit, strike, slay”)), due to the influence of knew, drew, etc. More at slay.
Words formed from slew
Phrases with slew
Words that rhyme with slew
Questions about slew
- What does slew mean?
- Slew means the act, or process of slewing.
- What is slew in Vietnamese?
- Slew in Vietnamese is đống. See Slew meaning in Vietnamese.
- How do you use slew in a sentence?
- Mustin, controlling the after trio of five-inch mounts, and Nickelson slewed their directors onto the lights and opened fire immediately.
- What part of speech is slew?
- Slew can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce slew?
- Slew is pronounced /sl(j)uː/.
- What is the plural of slew?
- The plural of slew is slews.
Words near slew in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: slew (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:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Pvanp7-slew.wav, En-au-slew.ogg.
Cite this entry: “slew.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/slew. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.