slaveholder

noun

slave·​hold·​er ˈslāv-ˌhōl-dər 

variants or less commonly slave holder

plural slaveholders also slave holders

: someone who holds one or more people involuntarily and under threat of violence within a system of chattel slavery

In the teaching of American history, perhaps the most difficult lesson to convey is that slavery once held the entire country in its grip. It was not just the business of enslaved black people, slaveholders, or the South.

—Karen E. Fields and Barbara J. Fields

Each slaveholder's inventoried listing of the number of human beings claimed as owned … was associated with their specific census data, and has, in this age of trillions of pages of digitized historic records, become a lamp shining light on the painful lost family history of many Black Americans.

—J. W. Sayles

… Mintus Solomon was born into slavery before having gained his freedom when his slave holder passed away.

—Amyah Bishop

called also slave owner

slaveholding

ˈslāv-ˌhōl-diŋ 

adjective or noun

plural slaveholdings

Examples of slaveholder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Smith is from New Orleans, where at least a hundred streets, statues, parks and schools are named after Confederate figures, slaveholders and defenders of slavery. — Terry Gross, NPR, 14 Aug. 2026

New York Life Insurance Company, Aetna Life Insurance Company and American International Group, commonly referred to as AIG, were some of the businesses that listed previously disclosed ties to slaves and slaveholders. — Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 22 July 2026

Responding to those sparks of abolitionist free thought with violent repression, including acts such as the Sumner caning, slaveholders’ violence fueled the rise of the new Republican Party. — Paul Quigley, The Conversation, 13 July 2026

In 2020, the murder of George Floyd ignited a nationwide reckoning on race, which prompted communities and institutions across the nation, including California, to remove public monuments of former slaveholders or prominent Confederate figures. — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for slaveholder

• officeholder
• beholder
• bondholder
• cardholder
• freeholder
• householder
• landholder
• leaseholder
• lienholder
• placeholder
• shareholder
• smallholder

Kids Definition

slaveholder

noun

slave·​hold·​er ˈslāv-ˌhōl-dər 

: someone who holds one or more people in forced servitude

slaveholding

-diŋ 

adjective or noun