slug

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
2
: a lump, disk, or cylinder of material (such as plastic or metal): such as
a(1)
: a musket ball
(2)
: bullet
b
: a piece of metal roughly shaped for subsequent processing
c
: a $50 gold piece
d
: a disk for insertion in a slot machine
especially : one used illegally instead of a coin
3
: any of numerous chiefly terrestrial pulmonate gastropods (order Stylommatophora) that are found in most parts of the world where there is a reasonable supply of moisture and are closely related to the land snails but are long and wormlike and have only a rudimentary shell often buried in the mantle or entirely absent
4
: a smooth soft larva of a sawfly or moth that creeps like a mollusk
5
a
: a quantity of liquor drunk in one swallow
b
: a detached mass of fluid (such as water vapor or oil) that causes impact (as in a circulating system)
6
a
: a strip of metal thicker than a printer's lead
b
: a line of type cast as one piece
c
: a usually temporary type line serving to instruct or identify
7
: the gravitational unit of mass in the foot-pound-second system to which a pound force can impart an acceleration of one foot per second per second and which is equal to the mass of an object weighing 32 pounds

Illustration of slug

Illustration of slug
  • slug 3

slug

2 of 4

verb (1)

slugged; slugging

transitive verb

1
: to add a printer's slug to
2
: to drink in gulps
often used with down

slug

3 of 4

noun (2)

: a heavy blow especially with the fist

slug

4 of 4

verb (2)

slugged; slugging

transitive verb

1
: to strike heavily with or as if with the fist or a bat
2
: fight sense 4b
usually used in the phrase slug it out

Examples of slug in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Ralston boosted that initial slug of capital from $125,000 to $500,000 per company, for a 7 percent stake. Steven Levy, WIRED, 15 Mar. 2024 The throttle response in the car is progressive and, when gently coerced, will give you a decent slug of acceleration. Alex Goy, Ars Technica, 31 July 2023 Finally, the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum is asking people to document their slug and snail sightings for its Snail Blitz 2024. Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 Carnivorous slugs eat worms, snails, and other slugs. Paul Richards, Field & Stream, 29 Feb. 2024 His face marked by the scars where two 30 caliber carbine slugs blasted half of his face away, former McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser points to a section along a lonely blacktop road where he and his wife Pauline were ambushed in 1967. CBS News, 9 Feb. 2024 Frequent temperature fluctuations and cycles of freezing and thawing in the winter also decrease the chance of the bulbs surviving the winter in a container. Pests and Problems Except for snails and slugs, dog tooth violet is not bothered by major pests or diseases. Nadia Hassani, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Jan. 2024 Those bugs and slugs will soon expire, and so will the fast-fading Tona. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2024 Such high-exit velocities also allow the bullets themselves to function as offensive hypersonic weapons in their own right, powerful slugs slamming into far-away buildings or vehicles with tremendous kinetic force. Kelsey D. Atherton, Popular Science, 1 Nov. 2023
Verb
In 24 games from May 10 to June 10, briefly interrupted by a bruised heel, Conforto slugged eight of his eventual 15 home runs, batting .333 with a 1.045 OPS. Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024 In addition to retaining free-agent outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., the club also acquired slugging third baseman Eugenio Suarez in a trade with Seattle. Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 25 Jan. 2024 In 2002, after Major League Baseball began storing baseballs used at Coors Field in a humidor, Helton’s home run total fell to 30, after slugging 42 and 49 in the previous two seasons. Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024 That was in 2000, when Helton produced his greatest season, leading the majors in hitting (.372), slugging (.698), OPS (1.162), doubles (59) and RBI (147). Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2024 The family said a witness told her a man and woman were chasing Lugo, with the man slugging him in the back with a gun. The Arizona Republic, 15 Jan. 2024 And if your mom told you not to slug milk straight from the bottle, there’s a good reason. Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 12 Feb. 2024 Among those purportedly helpful remedies slugging: applying a layer of Vaseline (petroleum jelly) to your face to calm cystic acne. Bella Gerard, Health, 26 Jan. 2024 Advertisement In Ohtani, the Dodgers have a walking, talking, slugging sales pitch for 2024. Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slug.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English slugge, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect slugga to walk sluggishly

Noun (2)

perhaps from slug to load with slugs

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

1912, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1830, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

circa 1861, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of slug was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near slug

Cite this Entry

“Slug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slug. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

slug

1 of 3 noun
1
2
a
: a small piece of shaped metal (as a bullet)
b
: a metal disk used in place of a coin in a coin-operated machine
3
: any of numerous long wormlike land mollusks that are related to the snails but have only an underdeveloped shell or none at all
4
: a single drink of liquor : shot

slug

2 of 3 noun
: a heavy blow especially with the fist

slug

3 of 3 verb
slugged; slugging
: to strike heavily with or as if with the fist or a bat
Etymology

Noun

Middle English slugge "a lazy person"; of Scandinavian origin

Noun

perhaps from earlier slug (verb) "to load (a weapon) with slugs"

More from Merriam-Webster on slug

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