slew
2 of 4past tense of slay
slew
4 of 4less common spelling of slough entry 1 sense 1b
Did you know?
Slew appeared as an American colloquialism in the early 19th century. Its origins are unclear, but it may have come from the Irish word slua, a descendant of slúag, an Old Irish word meaning “army,” “host,” or “throng.” Indeed, the earliest known uses of slew appear in a martial context, from a historical novel by Daniel Pierce Thompson about Vermont and the Green Mountain Boys, a militia organized in Vermont during the American Revolution. In one scene, one of the Boys tells leader Ethan Allen that “there’s more than a hundred slew of men coming!” Later, British General Burgoyne is said to have “drawn up a whole slew of cannon.” But despite this early military setting, slew is not limited to troops or artillery; a slew of data shows the word describing nearly anything existing in abundance.
Cite this Entry
“Slew.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slew. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.
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