slave 1 of 2

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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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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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
The 96-year-old pointed to the tombstone of his grandfather, who was freed after being a slave. Claire Osborn, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025 Geared toward middle and high school students, this 55-minute multi-media program features the stories and music of sons of former slaves, and how each, via perseverance and work ethic, developed their respective talents to sprout the roots of American popular music. Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Verb
For the Outies to live their lives without a second thought to that other person slaving away underground? Ben Travers, IndieWire, 14 Feb. 2025 Charcoal portraits depict six of the enslaved Africans who were aboard the Amistad, the 19th-century slaving schooner that became the center of a landmark Supreme Court case. Kaila Philo, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
Noun
  • The Forty Steps, located at the end of Narragansett Avenue a half mile north of the Breakers, was a popular meeting spot for Gilded Age domestics, especially Irish servants, who gathered there to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
    AFAR Media, AFAR Media, 3 July 2025
  • The couple had 10 children, including Peter Fossett, who was an enslaved house servant.
    Jeff Suess, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
Noun
  • Authorities had alleged that Haskell had hired four day laborers on Nov. 7, 2023 to dispose of several large trash bags, which one of the laborers said contained body parts.
    Liam Quinn, People.com, 14 July 2025
  • Farmworker advocates said Friday afternoon that one laborer had died from injuries sustained after falling from the roof of a greenhouse at Glass House cannabis operation while trying to escape federal agents.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2025
Verb
  • Finally, gradually acclimatizing workers to laboring in extreme heat, instead of expecting people to work full-steam on the first few blazing hot days of the summer.
    Terri Gerstein, New York Daily News, 25 June 2025
  • But his parents, Mexican immigrants in the Bracero program, labored in Woodland fields with no means to send Estrada, one of 15 children, to college.
    Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 19 June 2025
Noun
  • That Friday morning, his family, a lawyer and a bail bondsman all gathered in the courthouse for an unsuccessful attempt to have his bond lowered.
    Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
  • Because the sheriff’s office only accepts bail in person, with cash or a cashier’s check — and because local bondsmen will not serve migrants — many migrants have been forced to make similar payments to a cottage industry of informal couriers.
    Jack Herrera Jack Herrera, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Noun
  • That is similar to the impact of technological progress on workers.
    Olesya Dmitracova, CNN Money, 9 July 2025
  • Instead, the workplace economy must foster a system that shares risk, prioritizes results, and better supports workers through the full journey to economic mobility.
    Jason Wingard, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Verb
  • Many prominent energy and hardware startups have faltered at this critical juncture, struggling to transition from promising prototypes to reliable performance in real-world settings at scale.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
  • But some producers are already struggling thanks to other Trump administration moves and delays.
    Jenna McLaughlin, NPR, 10 July 2025
Verb
  • Dunham, in turn, strives to find new ways of expressing the emotion, through disarming dialogue and affecting tableaux.
    Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 10 July 2025
  • Founded in 886 by King Alfred the Great, The Royal Mint strives to marry its illustrious history with innovations in sustainable sourcing of precious metals.
    Kyle Roderick, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Noun
  • In many jurisdictions, the appeal of collecting is further enhanced through tax advantage, with sales exempt from capital gains thanks to wine’s classification as a wasting chattel.
    Paul Caputo, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
  • There is no question, the enslaved workers at the Nottoway Plantation during the antebellum era were human chattel.
    Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Time, 21 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

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