plural slaves
1
: someone captured, sold, or born into chattel slavery
Slaves … could be bought, sold, moved about, inherited, given away, insured, and used as collateral for all kinds of business transactions.—
Nell Irvin Painter
Nell Irvin PainterIt is evident now, if it never was before, that the development and prosperity of the European colonies in the New World depended upon the labor of these millions of African slaves and their enslaved descendants.—Gordon S. Wood
Gordon S. WoodOur poor and forlorn brother whom thou has labelled "slave" is also a man. … God made him such, and his brother cannot unmake him.—Henry Highland Garnet
Henry Highland GarnetNote: Though still frequently encountered in English, use of the term slave is diminishing relative to such descriptors as "enslaved people" or "the enslaved" when referring to African Americans who were subjected to chattel slavery. In addition to individuals and communities, many institutions—including but not limited to museums, national parks, universities, and media outlets—have updated their language to emphasize the humanity of individuals who were forced to labor for the profit of others under threat of violence, separation from family and friends, and death.
2
: someone (such as a factory worker or domestic laborer) who is coerced often under threat of violence to work for little or no pay
… garment workers who were detained by immigration authorities after a raid had found them being kept as slaves in an El Monte sweatshop.—Melanie Mason
Melanie Mason… the continuing scourge of human slaves being used in the supply chain at both a local and international level.—Romy Hawatt
Romy HawattWhen people buy slaves today they don't ask for a receipt or ownership papers, but they do gain control—and they use violence to maintain this control.—Kevin Bales
Kevin Bales3
: someone held captive and forced to perform sexual acts usually under threat of violence and often for the purposes of commercial prostitution : sex slave
… women held as slaves by an Islamic State fighter are appealing to the UN to intervene in their case for compensation in a move lawyers hope will help fix a "lawless" global system that is failing torture survivors. … "We've got women who experienced sexual violence and violence generally …," said [Yasmin] Waljee [attorney].—Kaamil Ahmed
Kaamil AhmedI consider sex trafficking to be a grotesque, yet highly profitable, component of contemporary slavery. … I met hundreds of slaves during eight years of research in more than a dozen countries, and I met with the traffickers, slave owners, and other criminals who exploited them.—Siddharth Kara
Siddharth Kara4
often disapproving
: someone or something that is completely subservient to a dominating person or influence
a slave to fashion/technology
Markets are slaves of liquidity.—Deepak Shenoy
Deepak Shenoy… Americans are slaves to the clock, constantly watching our watches until the two hands line up in a specific way that tells us it's time to do something different.—David Brown
David Brown
slaved; slaving; slaves
1
: to work very hard for long hours or under difficult conditions : drudge
2
: to traffic in people to be sold into slavery
1
a
: of, relating to, involving, or used for slavery or enslaved people
slave traders
a slave auction
slave labor
a slave economy
The relation between freedom and literacy became the compelling theme of the slave narratives, the great body of printed books that ex-slaves generated to assert their common humanity with white Americans and to indict the system that had oppressed them.—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
b
: held involuntarily and forced under threat of violence to work without pay for the profit of another : enslaved
born of slave parents
slave workers
The law very specifically withheld from a slave woman the rights of personhood and concomitant protection of the state.—Catherine Clinton
Catherine Clinton
c
: favoring or legally permitting slavery
a slave territory
the slave states
2
: operated by remote control
the device now tucked away behind the dials isn't properly a clockwork but a … slave unit activated by an electric clock inside the bank—The New Yorker
The New Yorker
specifically
: responding to manipulation of the master controls of an apparatus
There's also provision for attaching external slave flash units for greater flash range when using print film. —Herbert Keppler
Herbert Keppler … had the ultimate compact-disc system—a master machine and four optional slave machines—that will load and play 250 discs altogether … —William D. Marbach
William D. Marbach 
Synonyms
Examples of slave in a Sentence
Noun
He's a slave to fashion trends.
Do it yourself! I'm not your slave!
Verb
I slaved all morning to get the work done on time.
She's been slaving away at her homework.
Recent Examples on the WebJason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2023
In it, Schwimmer and Perry are dressed in a vaguely Miami Vice fashion (apparently Ross and Chandler were slaves to fashion in their college years).
—Matthew Perry’s Comic Timing, Vulture, 16 Nov. 2023
For Lewis, his ancestors were slaves in Grenada, which means that his relatives were very possibly slaves of the Trevelyan family.
—Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 15 Nov. 2023
Through newspaper records and Smallwood’s and Torrey’s writings, Shane paints a vivid picture of the nation’s capital, which was then dominated by pro-slavery institutions, and of the journeys of slaves who fled north.
—Condé Nast, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
Baltimore was part slave and part free, as was all of Maryland.
—Anna Deavere Smith, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2023
Once inside, the spores sprout long tendrils called mycelia that eventually reach into the brain and release chemicals that make the unfortunate host the fungi’s zombie slave.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 31 Oct. 2023
So an 11-year-old mixed-race slave girl brought the system down.
—Anna Deavere Smith, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2023
Moreover, King William III — the original purchaser of Kensington Palace — was given shares in the Royal African Company by notorious slave trader Edward Colston.
—Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 30 Oct. 2023
Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
But their reassurances tend to fall on deaf ears, as Hannah stays up late each night slaving over dresses her mean-spirited boss will likely dismiss with a sneer.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Mar. 2023
Monuments to slave owners who took up arms against the United States in the Civil War—such as Robert E. Lee—are now coming down.
—Susan Goldberg, National Geographic, 9 Dec. 2021
Pennsylvania, a free state, was too close to slave country to be considered safe.
—Roger Lowenstein, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2022
Women and children, soon to be sold off to slave traders, huddle in fear.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2022
The first wave of refugees was from the Darfur region of Sudan, followed by Eritreans escaping brutal military dictatorship and forced conscription that has been compared to slave labor.
—Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan. 2022
In other words, the founding fathers were well aware of the economic advantage to slave owners of limiting the Atlantic slave trade.
—New York Times, 23 Dec. 2021
Change your scenery and let someone else slave over the stove.
—Heidi Mitchell, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2021
Bob Christie, ajc, 26 Mar. 2021
The measure helped spur a larger movement for ex-slave pensions and was later suppressed by federal agencies.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2021
See More
Noun
The 1804 revolution that overthrew colonial France was the most successful slave revolt in history and spawned the first free Black republic in the world.
—Jason Motlagh, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2023
In it, Schwimmer and Perry are dressed in a vaguely Miami Vice fashion (apparently Ross and Chandler were slaves to fashion in their college years).
—Matthew Perry’s Comic Timing, Vulture, 16 Nov. 2023
For Lewis, his ancestors were slaves in Grenada, which means that his relatives were very possibly slaves of the Trevelyan family.
—Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 15 Nov. 2023
Through newspaper records and Smallwood’s and Torrey’s writings, Shane paints a vivid picture of the nation’s capital, which was then dominated by pro-slavery institutions, and of the journeys of slaves who fled north.
—Condé Nast, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
Baltimore was part slave and part free, as was all of Maryland.
—Anna Deavere Smith, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2023
Once inside, the spores sprout long tendrils called mycelia that eventually reach into the brain and release chemicals that make the unfortunate host the fungi’s zombie slave.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 31 Oct. 2023
So an 11-year-old mixed-race slave girl brought the system down.
—Anna Deavere Smith, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2023
Moreover, King William III — the original purchaser of Kensington Palace — was given shares in the Royal African Company by notorious slave trader Edward Colston.
—Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 30 Oct. 2023
Verb
Instead, Christie ended up a supplicant, slaving for Trump’s transition team before finally getting murked by a Jared Kushner bent on settling family business.
—Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023
But their reassurances tend to fall on deaf ears, as Hannah stays up late each night slaving over dresses her mean-spirited boss will likely dismiss with a sneer.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Mar. 2023
Monuments to slave owners who took up arms against the United States in the Civil War—such as Robert E. Lee—are now coming down.
—Susan Goldberg, National Geographic, 9 Dec. 2021
Pennsylvania, a free state, was too close to slave country to be considered safe.
—Roger Lowenstein, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2022
Women and children, soon to be sold off to slave traders, huddle in fear.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2022
The first wave of refugees was from the Darfur region of Sudan, followed by Eritreans escaping brutal military dictatorship and forced conscription that has been compared to slave labor.
—Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan. 2022
In other words, the founding fathers were well aware of the economic advantage to slave owners of limiting the Atlantic slave trade.
—New York Times, 23 Dec. 2021
Change your scenery and let someone else slave over the stove.
—Heidi Mitchell, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2021
Adjective
At a House hearing last month, Shelby Young of the Arizona Coalition for Change decried the proposal as a direct reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement and its protests against statutes dedicated to slave owners and pro-slave figures.
—Bob Christie, ajc, 26 Mar. 2021
The measure helped spur a larger movement for ex-slave pensions and was later suppressed by federal agencies.
—Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2021
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slave.' 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
Middle English sclave, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin; Anglo-French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus, from Sclavus Slav; from the frequent enslavement of Slavs in central Europe during the early Middle Ages
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1559, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2
Adjective
1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1b
Time Traveler
The first known use of slave was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing slave
Dictionary Entries Near slave
Cite this Entry
“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slave. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
Etymology
Noun
Middle English sclave "slave," from early French esclave (same meaning), derived from Latin Sclavus "Slav"
Word Origin
In the Middle Ages, Germanic people fought and raided other peoples, especially the Slavic peoples to the east. They took a great many captives there and sold them as slaves throughout Europe. The Slavic people were so common as slaves that writers of the time used the Latin word for "Slav," Sclavus, to mean "a personal slave." The Latin word became sclave in Middle English and then slave in Modern English. Of course slavery and slaves had existed long before the Middle Ages. The ancient Romans used the Latin word servus for "slave." This Latin word is the ancestor of our word servant. In French, servus became serf and was used for a slave who belonged to a piece of land rather than to an individual. Serf has continued to mean this in both French and English, although serfs themselves no longer exist.
Geographical Definition
Slave
geographical name
river 258 miles (415 kilometers) long in Canada flowing from the western end of Lake Athabasca north into Great Slave Lake
More from Merriam-Webster on slave
Nglish: Translation of slave for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of slave for Arabic Speakers
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