1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

slave 1 of 2

noun

ˈslāv How to pronounce slave (audio)
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

slave

2 of 2

verb

as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort slaving over a hot stove

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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
Refraining from doing wrong solely to avoid punishment is the virtue of a slave. — Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026 Jefferson, who often posted rewards or hired slave catchers to return those who escaped, did not attempt to recover either. — Andrew Lawler, The Atlantic, 18 Sep. 2026
Verb
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 However, the worse the prison’s conditions become — as the workers are forced to slave away on secret Death Star parts with no promise of release — the more Kino is pushed to join Cassian and his brewing prisoner revolt. — Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
  1. servant
  2. laborer
  3. labor
  4. bondman
  5. worker
  6. struggle
  7. chattel
  8. strive
Noun
  • The story says two Irish servants working at the Belle Haven mansions in the late 1800s fell in love.
    — Kaitlyn Keegan, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
  • That morning Georg Winter, Hitler’s personal servant, is understood to have forced open Raubal’s room, which was locked from the inside, and found her body on the floor, according to Munich police records.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of servant
Noun
  • Like most aggies, Coover’s self-conception is more small-business owner than laborer.
    — Kyle Paoletta, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Cazares begins most days at sunrise and works construction or as a day laborer throughout the city and suburbs.
    — Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of laborer
Verb
  • For someone with perhaps the most famous grunge lineage of all, Frances Bean Cobain has never needed to labor the reference.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2026
  • McNeely’s portrait of a laboring mother, swathed in glowing fields of chartreuse, outshines (again, literally) art history’s greats.
    — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of labor
Noun
  • The judge at the time amended his bond to $3 million cash only, meaning he would only be released by providing the full amount and not having the sum guaranteed by a bondsman.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Megan Showers' bond was set at $20,000, but the judge gave her the ability to pay 10% through a bail bondsman, prosecutors said.
    — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of bondman
Noun
  • The slow-moving storm, which killed a New York City housing authority worker when a tree fell Saturday, was expected to linger through Sunday with heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous surf all the way to New England.
    — Leah Willingham, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026
  • In Surf City, New Jersey, water rose inside a marina where workers had moved equipment to higher ground, and owner Kenny Formica said customers reported boats and Jet Skis missing or blown from their lifts.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of worker
Verb
  • But when her character — saucy British writer Constance Clavinger — turns out to be a handful (getting drunk at the airport bar, for starters), Homer struggles to get her to the school on time.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Three families who are very close friends struggle daily with the teenagers at home.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of struggle
Noun
  • Men were masters over their women, their chattel, and their emotions.
    — Rob Wolfe, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
  • The law turned human beings into chattel, allowing them to be worked, beaten, sold, raped and killed — and France never formally did away with it.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 May 2026
Definition of chattel
Verb
  • But while the creators of AI strive to set guardrails, the building of the infrastructure for the technology continues.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
  • In a poetic blend of reality and imagination, a vivacious Brooklyn teenager strives to reclaim her own fleeting childhood while helping raise her four younger sisters.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of strive

Phrases Containing slave

Browse Nearby Words

slaughters
slave
slaved
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All