1
: soft moist earth or clay
especially
: viscous mud
2
: a viscous, glutinous, or gelatinous substance: such as
a
: a mucous or mucoid secretion of various animals (such as slugs and catfishes)
b
: a product of wet crushing consisting of ore ground so fine as to pass a 200-mesh screen
3
US, informal
: a morally repulsive or odious person
slimed; sliming
1
: to smear or cover with slime
2
: to remove slime from (something, such as fish for canning)
: to become slimy
Synonyms
Examples of slime in a Sentence
Noun
Green slime covers the surface of the pond.
She thinks men are slime.
Recent Examples on the Web
Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, six food-serving facilities including a hotel and a convenience store received yellow placards due to violations such as black slime, moldy strawberries, dirty shelves and a dying cockroach.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 8 Mar. 2024
On May 3, 2023, while the girls were filming a YouTube video making slime at the group’s content house, Anjie, fed up with the allegedly arduous hours and the erratic school schedule, had a verbal confrontation with the other mothers, as well as the girls’ teacher.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024
Augmented reality versions of cartoon icon SpongeBob SquarePants and his buddy Patrick Star join two traditional broadcasters, and animations of slime will fill the screen after touchdowns.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2024
Personalized lipsticks dressed their mouths in matte (a characteristic of the Prada runway since their first show in ‘88), pairing with orange powders and strong brows raised up to the pink slime dripping from their HQ’s ceiling.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 6 Feb. 2024
Slimy Sallies, 2 p.m. at Potato Creek State Park: Learn why slime helps salamanders survive at Potato Creek’s nature center.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Mar. 2024
And their single foot that leaves a signature of slime.
—Paul Richards, Field & Stream, 29 Feb. 2024
Some are just goofy, such as a slime slingshot, which allows participants to catapult slime at someone else.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 26 Mar. 2024
Editor’s picks At Nickelodeon, parents stood at the sidelines as kids took center stage: tackling slapstick skits, getting slimed, or completing Fear-Factor-like dares.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2024
When the first trailer for the film went viral this year, trolls came out of their caves and slimed it.
—Brett Weiss, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Jan. 2024
Either way, sliming needs to be included in more awards shows.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2023
And, naturally, the Left failed our soldiers as well, sliming them as baby-killers and such.
—Ray Nothstine, National Review, 11 Nov. 2023
The knife is designed to be slimed with blood and guts, with aggressive jimping on the spine.
—T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 5 Oct. 2023
The cover art in question is an 11-year-old photo of Halle Berry getting slimed at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
—Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 18 Sep. 2023
The rapper teased the track with with a photo of Halle Berry getting slimed at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 16 Sep. 2023
Noun
The video covers having the proper equipment for large fish, minimizing the time the fish is out of the water, protecting the fish’s slime coating, holding the large fish horizontally to support the fish’s body and releasing the fish properly.
—Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, six food-serving facilities including a hotel and a convenience store received yellow placards due to violations such as black slime, moldy strawberries, dirty shelves and a dying cockroach.
—Jacqueline Pinedo, Sacramento Bee, 8 Mar. 2024
On May 3, 2023, while the girls were filming a YouTube video making slime at the group’s content house, Anjie, fed up with the allegedly arduous hours and the erratic school schedule, had a verbal confrontation with the other mothers, as well as the girls’ teacher.
—Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 13 Feb. 2024
Augmented reality versions of cartoon icon SpongeBob SquarePants and his buddy Patrick Star join two traditional broadcasters, and animations of slime will fill the screen after touchdowns.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2024
Personalized lipsticks dressed their mouths in matte (a characteristic of the Prada runway since their first show in ‘88), pairing with orange powders and strong brows raised up to the pink slime dripping from their HQ’s ceiling.
—India Espy-Jones, Essence, 6 Feb. 2024
Slimy Sallies, 2 p.m. at Potato Creek State Park: Learn why slime helps salamanders survive at Potato Creek’s nature center.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Mar. 2024
And their single foot that leaves a signature of slime.
—Paul Richards, Field & Stream, 29 Feb. 2024
Some are just goofy, such as a slime slingshot, which allows participants to catapult slime at someone else.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Verb
Parker could be seen holding a JW Anderson pigeon clutch from season 2 while Davis was dressed in a sliming black ensemble with a pink satin bow and a white peter pan collar.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 26 Mar. 2024
Editor’s picks At Nickelodeon, parents stood at the sidelines as kids took center stage: tackling slapstick skits, getting slimed, or completing Fear-Factor-like dares.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2024
When the first trailer for the film went viral this year, trolls came out of their caves and slimed it.
—Brett Weiss, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Jan. 2024
Either way, sliming needs to be included in more awards shows.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2023
And, naturally, the Left failed our soldiers as well, sliming them as baby-killers and such.
—Ray Nothstine, National Review, 11 Nov. 2023
The knife is designed to be slimed with blood and guts, with aggressive jimping on the spine.
—T. Edward Nickens, Field & Stream, 5 Oct. 2023
The cover art in question is an 11-year-old photo of Halle Berry getting slimed at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
—Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 18 Sep. 2023
The rapper teased the track with with a photo of Halle Berry getting slimed at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 16 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slime.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English, from Old English slīm; akin to Middle High German slīm slime, Latin limus mud — more at lime
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1628, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of slime was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing slime
Dictionary Entries Near slime
Cite this Entry
“Slime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slime. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
slime
nounˈslīm
1
: soft moist earth or clay
especially
: sticky slippery or sticky mud
2
: a slippery or sticky substance
especially
: one that various animals (as slugs or catfishes) secrete onto their skin
More from Merriam-Webster on slime
Nglish: Translation of slime for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of slime for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about slime
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