1
: characterized or developed by felling and burning trees to clear land especially for temporary agriculture
2
: extremely ruthless and unsparing
slash-and-burn tactics
slash-and-burn criticism

Examples of slash-and-burn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But House Republicans’ choice to repeatedly push such proposals highlights their slash-and-burn approach to federal spending, and why Congress is facing such a steep challenge reaching a longer-term deal to fund the government. Robert Jimison, New York Times, 16 Nov. 2023 Get a link Page url Get Citation Request Reprint Permissions Download Article After four years of the Trump administration’s slash-and-burn approach to democracy at home and abroad, U.S. President Joe Biden’s focus on reviving U.S. leadership on global democracy represents a breath of fresh air. Frances Z. Brown, Foreign Affairs, 23 July 2021 The farmers who worked the surrounding land used slash-and-burn methods, and railroad companies set fires to clear ground for their tracks. Elisa Neckar, Discover Magazine, 13 Sep. 2023 With a healthy dose of wit and wisdom, soul-baring honesty and a riffing style that invokes his slash-and-burn guitar playing, Mud Ride offers something for record-collecting music geeks, skateboarder punk crews, grunge history heads, Nirvana and Pearl Jam fans, and Mudhoney buffs alike. Brad Cohan, SPIN, 13 June 2023 The tortoises have lost habitat space in their native environment due to slash-and-burn agriculture and mining. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Mar. 2023 Coupled with their promise not to raise taxes, that leaves the GOP to consider a slash-and-burn approach to a slew of federal programs and agencies whose budgets are controlled by Congress. Carl Hulse and Catie Edmondson, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Mar. 2023 On the fringes, slash-and-burn farming has scarred the hillsides, sending red dust and gritty sand over the landscape when the dry-season winds blow. Caroline Chen, ProPublica, 7 Mar. 2023 Countries in the Amazon, such as Brazil, showed higher levels of particulate matter during August and September, potentially associated with emissions from farmers clearing land with fire, known as slash-and-burn cultivation. Kasha Patel, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Mar. 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of slash-and-burn was in 1939

Dictionary Entries Near slash-and-burn

Cite this Entry

“Slash-and-burn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slash-and-burn. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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