slaying

noun

slay·​ing ˈslā-iŋ 

plural slayings

: the act of killing a person : killing, murder

—used chiefly in journalistic writing

a gangland slaying

Sunday's slayings bring to 14 the number of killings this year in what police call gang-related attacks.

—Peter Stein

He is accused of ordering the 1989 slayings and robberies of three drug dealers …

—Joseph P. Fried

Synonyms

• murder
• homicide
• killing

Examples of slaying in a Sentence

a man wanted for the slaying of seven people during an armed robbery

Recent Examples on the Web

Ruben Perez, 46, was taken into custody in the Midway District shortly after 10 a.m. on suspicion of murder in the slaying of Jason Poindexter, 46, according to the San Diego Police Department. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2025

The suspect called 911 to report the victims' death, then later turned herself in as a suspect in the double slaying, police said. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 11 July 2025

David Lawrence Atkeson, who died in 1989, was identified as a suspect in the 1978 slaying of Diana Kuhn, the West Linn Police Department said in a July 2 Facebook post. —Sacbee.com, 8 July 2025

Renfroe was charged in the June 2023 slaying of James Wilkins, a 27-year-old father and football coach. —Christina Hall, Freep.com, 8 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for slaying

• baying
• braying
• faying
• flaying
• fraying
• graying
• greying
• haying
• laying
• neighing
• paying
• playing