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

• blood
• foul play
• homicide
• murder
• rubout

Examples of slaying in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Adam Montgomery, 34, was found guilty in February of second-degree murder, abuse of corpse, tampering with witnesses and informants, second-degree assault and falsifying physical evidence in the 2019 slaying of Harmony Montgomery, the Seacoast Sunday, part of The USA TODAY Network reported. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024

The suspect accused of killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley has been formally indicted on murder and other offenses in connection with the brutal slaying on the University of Georgia campus. —Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 8 May 2024

Three men were arrested in Mexico in connection with the slayings about six weeks later. —Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2024

This list is preliminary, and the number of homicides can change as authorities investigate each case, determining whether the slaying was criminal, justified, accidental or suicide. —Jake Allen, The Indianapolis Star, 6 May 2024

At Dalton State College, Karla Hernandez, 21, a senior studying biology, had similar fears now that the state has passed new legislation, House Bill 1105, to crack down on undocumented immigrants following the slaying of nursing student Laken Riley at the University of Georgia. —Suzanne Gamboa, NBC News, 29 Apr. 2024

Staring at the jury on the 16th floor of Sacramento’s federal courthouse downtown this week, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hitt held up the knife used by inmate William Sylvester to kill another prisoner, a slaying Hitt said was done to gain entry to the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. —Sam Stanton, Sacramento Bee, 24 Apr. 2024

Durst was sentenced to life in prison in 2021 for Berman's killing, and he was indicted that same year in the slaying of McCormack. —Erin Jensen, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024

Maxwell Anderson, 33, of Milwaukee, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and arson in the slaying of Sade Robinson, also of Milwaukee. —Antonio Planas, NBC News, 19 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above