slay

verb

ˈslā 

slew ˈslü  also especially in sense 2 slayed; slain ˈslān  ; slaying; slays

1

transitive : to kill violently, wantonly, or in great numbers

slay the enemy

This was the appearance of a dreadful epidemic which in that age, and long before and afterward, was wont to slay its hundreds and thousands on both sides of the Atlantic.

—Nathaniel Hawthorne

broadly : to strike down : kill

slay a dragon

"It's a lot easier to slay a vampire with a stake in the heart than it is to slay some of our demons that are in our heads."

—Rachel T. Hill

2

transitive informal : to delight or amuse immensely

slayed the audience

… [Seth Rogen] is currently slaying critics with Superbad, which he co-wrote with Evan Goldberg.

—Tanner Stransky

3

transitive + intransitive informal : to do something or perform exceptionally well or impressively : to be exceptionally impressive

From the Let Girls Learn initiative to her Vogue covers, [Yara Shahidi] slays it all.

—Rebecca Sun

Beyoncé did not come to this year's Grammy Awards just to slay, she came to make a statement.

—Jackie Fields

From the red carpet to her sure-to-be epic performance, one thing is for certain—she's gonna slay.

—Quinn Keaney

slayer noun

Synonyms of slay

• kill
• destroy

Choose the Right Synonym for slay

kill, slay, murder, assassinate, dispatch, execute mean to deprive of life.

kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident

frost killed the plants

slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

Examples of slay in a Sentence

The knight slew the dragon.

millions have been slain worldwide by this dreadful disease

Recent Examples on the Web

UConn eventually slayed Duke on the way to championships in 1999 and 2004. —Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 26 Mar. 2026

The latest was Ali Larijani, a fixture of Iranian politics and repression, and one of the slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s most unflinching loyalists. —Jason Rezaian, New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2026

Shortly after becoming husband and wife, Grace milks another loophole in the hide-and-seek rulebook and slays Titus, thereby sending the rest of the High Council to slaughter at the hands of their demonic overlord, Le Bail. —Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Mar. 2026

Spoiler alert on this 400-year-old novel, but Don Quixote doesn't actually slay any giants or rescue any princesses. —Meg Anderson, NPR, 22 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English slen, from Old English slēan to strike, slay; akin to Old High German slahan to strike, Middle Irish slachta stricken

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for slay

• ay
• bay
• bey
• brae
• cay
• chez
• dey
• dray
• fay
• fey
• flay
• fray

Kids Definition

slay

verb

ˈslā 

slew ˈslü  ; slain ˈslān  ; slaying

: to put to death violently or in great numbers

slayer noun