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
Peter SteinHe is accused of ordering the 1989 slayings and robberies of three drug dealers …—Joseph P. Fried
Joseph P. FriedExamples of slaying in a Sentence
a man wanted for the slaying of seven people during an armed robbery
Recent Examples on the Web
Also killed in the June 26, 1994 slayings: Sharon Anderson and Marie Rogers, both 25-year-old women who were guests in Sucharski’s home.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
The manhunt for Travis Decker, a 32-year-old U.S. Army veteran wanted in connection with the brutal slayings of his daughters, who were found dead earlier this month, entered just over two weeks on Tuesday, June 17.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 18 June 2025
The suspect wanted in the slaying of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well as in the shooting of a state senator and his wife, was found Sunday night armed and crawling in a field in a sparsely populated stretch of Minnesota, authorities said.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 16 June 2025
Nearly four years after residents of a Fountain Valley neighborhood discovered the body of a 26-year-old driver with gunshot wounds to the head slumped over in a still-running VW Jetta, a friend of the woman was convicted on Monday, June 9 of orchestrating the execution-style slaying.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for slaying
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Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
The manhunt for Travis Decker, a 32-year-old U.S. Army veteran wanted in connection with the brutal slayings of his daughters, who were found dead earlier this month, entered just over two weeks on Tuesday, June 17.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 18 June 2025
The suspect wanted in the slaying of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband, as well as in the shooting of a state senator and his wife, was found Sunday night armed and crawling in a field in a sparsely populated stretch of Minnesota, authorities said.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 16 June 2025
Nearly four years after residents of a Fountain Valley neighborhood discovered the body of a 26-year-old driver with gunshot wounds to the head slumped over in a still-running VW Jetta, a friend of the woman was convicted on Monday, June 9 of orchestrating the execution-style slaying.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for slaying
Cite this Entry
“Slaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slaying. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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