plural slayings
: the act of killing a person : killing, murder
—used chiefly in journalistic writing
a gangland slaying
Sunday's slayings bring to 14 the number of killings this year in what police call gang-related attacks.—
Peter Stein
Peter SteinHe is accused of ordering the 1989 slayings and robberies of three drug dealers …—Joseph P. Fried
Joseph P. Fried
Examples of slaying in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Staring at the jury on the 16th floor of Sacramento’s federal courthouse downtown this week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hitt held up the knife used by inmate William Sylvester to kill another prisoner, a slaying Hitt said was done to gain entry to the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang.
—Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee, 24 Apr. 2024
Durst was sentenced to life in prison in 2021 for Berman's killing, and he was indicted that same year in the slaying of McCormack.
—Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
Maxwell Anderson, 33, of Milwaukee, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson in the slaying of Sade Robinson, also of Milwaukee.
—Antonio Planas, NBC News, 19 Apr. 2024
Attacks on the press have long been a problem in Haiti, where the slaying of the country’s most famous journalist, Jean Léopold Dominique, remains unsolved 24 years after he was gunned down outside of his Port-au-Prince radio station in 2000.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
For the American public, the slayings of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman were practically inescapable in those days.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
The knife used in the slayings has never been found.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
This list is preliminary, and the number of homicides can change as authorities investigate each case, determining whether the slaying was criminal, justified, accidental or suicide.
—Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Apr. 2024
This week, 34 years after the killing, Brown, now 66 and a resident of Annapolis, was charged with second-degree murder in Rich’s slaying.
—Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee, 24 Apr. 2024
Durst was sentenced to life in prison in 2021 for Berman's killing, and he was indicted that same year in the slaying of McCormack.
—Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
Maxwell Anderson, 33, of Milwaukee, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson in the slaying of Sade Robinson, also of Milwaukee.
—Antonio Planas, NBC News, 19 Apr. 2024
Attacks on the press have long been a problem in Haiti, where the slaying of the country’s most famous journalist, Jean Léopold Dominique, remains unsolved 24 years after he was gunned down outside of his Port-au-Prince radio station in 2000.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
For the American public, the slayings of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman were practically inescapable in those days.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
The knife used in the slayings has never been found.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
This list is preliminary, and the number of homicides can change as authorities investigate each case, determining whether the slaying was criminal, justified, accidental or suicide.
—Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Apr. 2024
This week, 34 years after the killing, Brown, now 66 and a resident of Annapolis, was charged with second-degree murder in Rich’s slaying.
—Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slaying.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Slaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slaying. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.
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