slave 1 of 2

Definition of slavenext
1
as in servant
a person who is considered the property of another person many American slaves reached freedom in the North through the network known as the Underground Railroad

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work unappreciated office slaves who perform the necessary but tedious task of filing paperwork

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

slave

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of slave
Noun
In the 18th and 19th centuries, this square was the site of a slave market; today, bronze sculptures depicting scenes of branding and auctioning stand in memory of that brutal past. Caitlin Gunther, Travel + Leisure, 12 Jan. 2026 Our executive producers in Senegal found a cave on Gorée Island, a famous site known as one of the last places where slaves were held before being sent to the New World. Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2026
Verb
After two years away on loan while Leeds were slaving away in the second tier, the winger has returned to find his old No 11 shirt in Brenden Aaronson’s possession. The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025 Defined by exhaustion from slaving away at the ironing board while confronting the latest family crisis, Angela is quite capable of whipping up baloney sandwiches with mayonnaise for all and functions as a wise-cracking, big-hearted den mother. Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
Noun
  • One of his wackier ideas involved Italian gondolas, grass huts and servants dressed in Tahitian clothing.
    Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026
  • And multiple servants in white gloves to tend to the pugs.
    Matt Donnelly, Variety, 19 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • The trade was halted, and ships carrying Polynesian laborers were ordered back.
    Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
  • We’re told that golf balls fished out of a pond are worth more than these laborers.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Lahmeyer, the Oklahoma pastor, said pastors and Christian leaders often labor under the burden of expectations.
    John Blake, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
  • The team labored in home losses to Houston and the Los Angeles Chargers, with Mahomes ultimately suffering a season-ending ACL injury in the fourth quarter of that setback against the Chargers.
    Jesse Newell, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Cole works in the office of a bail bondsman in northern Virginia, the charging document states.
    Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 5 Dec. 2025
  • Plus, bail bondsmen are the ultimate local rent seekers.
    Dan Gooding Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • More than 15,000 energy workers, including Adamov and his colleagues, are now battling to repair the damage across Ukraine.
    Svitlana Vlasova, CNN Money, 24 Jan. 2026
  • New Deductions For Tips And Overtime Workers There are two new deductions for workers who rely on variable pay.
    Emma Waldman, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Multiple royal watchers have claimed the prince has struggled to move beyond the fallout of his dramatic exit from royal life six years ago, citing professional setbacks and lingering personal tensions.
    Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 28 Jan. 2026
  • The congressman says one of his top priorities is passing a new farm bill, which has been tied up in Congress and could provide some relief to local farmers struggling with declining profits.
    James Taylor, CBS News, 28 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Patriarchal cultures reduce women to economic dependence, treating them as a form of chattel to be traded among families.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
  • There was no forgetting the notorious Confederate prison camps like Andersonville and Salisbury, the Confederate pogrom at Fort Pillow, and the fact that the South had seceded in the first place to perpetuate and expand an elite-serving economy based on human chattel.
    Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 5 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Zelenskyy is also striving to keep the world’s attention focused on Ukraine despite other conflicts.
    Kamila Hrabchuk, Fortune, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Zelensky is also striving to keep the world’s attention focused on Ukraine despite other conflicts.
    Kamila Hrabchuk, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.

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