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 of slaying

• 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

The couple’s daughter was being babysat elsewhere by relatives when the slaying occurred, Tatiana’s uncle said. — Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 9 July 2026

Investigators have identified two suspects in the slayings, but neither has been charged or named publicly. — Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 7 July 2026

One person was dead and another hospitalized after a shooting Friday morning in Bay Point, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, and authorities are searching for a suspect in the slaying. — Kyle Martin, Mercury News, 4 July 2026

Polish prosecutors have not attributed the slaying to Moscow and Poland's Internal Security Agency did not immediately reply to a request for comment. — ABC News, 16 June 2026

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