slew
2 of 4past tense of slay
slew
4 of 4less common spelling of slough entry 1 sense 1b
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Slew appeared as an American colloquialism in the early 19th century. Its origins are unclear, but it is perhaps taken from the Irish slua, a descendant of Old Irish slúag, meaning "army," "host," or "throng." Slew has several homographs (words that are spelled alike but different in meaning, derivation, or pronunciation) in English. These include: slew as the past tense of the verb slay; slew as a spelling variant of slough, a word which is also commonly pronounced \SLOO\ and which means "swamp," "an inlet on a river," or "a creek in a marsh or tide flat"; and the verb slew, meaning "to turn, veer, or skid."
Examples of slew in a Sentence
Paul Tibbitt, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Facing a slew of position player injuries in April, the Twins acquired Bride after the Marlins designated him for assignment.
—Dan Hayes, New York Times, 30 June 2025
David Hambling, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
The 'Planetarium View' shows users a representation of the night sky, and tapping on an object gives you the option to slew the telescope to it directly.
—Gemma Lavender, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slew
Cite this Entry
“Slew.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slew. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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