1
transitive
: to kill violently, wantonly, or in great numbers
slay the enemy
This was the appearance of a dreadful epidemic which in that age, and long before and afterward, was wont to slay its hundreds and thousands on both sides of the Atlantic.—
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne
broadly
: to strike down : kill
slay a dragon
"It's a lot easier to slay a vampire with a stake in the heart than it is to slay some of our demons that are in our heads." —Rachel T. Hill
Rachel T. Hill 2
transitive
informal
: to delight or amuse immensely
slayed the audience
… [Seth Rogen] is currently slaying critics with Superbad, which he co-wrote with Evan Goldberg.—Tanner Stransky
Tanner Stransky3
transitive + intransitive
informal
: to do something or perform exceptionally well or impressively : to be exceptionally impressive
From the Let Girls Learn initiative to her Vogue covers, [Yara Shahidi] slays it all.—Rebecca Sun
Rebecca SunBeyoncé did not come to this year's Grammy Awards just to slay, she came to make a statement.—Jackie Fields
Jackie FieldsFrom the red carpet to her sure-to-be epic performance, one thing is for certain—she's gonna slay.—Quinn Keaney
Quinn Keaney
slayer
noun
Synonyms
Examples of slay in a Sentence
The knight slew the dragon.
millions have been slain worldwide by this dreadful disease
Recent Examples on the Web
All were among the 185 slain in Kansas City during 2023.
—Bill Lukitsch, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2024
The slaughterhouses and packing plants that sprang up in Chicago in the late 1800s, for instance, concealed the brutality of their slaying methods—cows battered in the head, the occasional still-living pig dunked in boiling water—behind closed factory doors.
—Ben Goldfarb, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for slay 
Bill Lukitsch, Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2024
The slaughterhouses and packing plants that sprang up in Chicago in the late 1800s, for instance, concealed the brutality of their slaying methods—cows battered in the head, the occasional still-living pig dunked in boiling water—behind closed factory doors.
—Ben Goldfarb, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for slay
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slay.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near slay
Cite this Entry
“Slay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slay. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
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