slouch

play

noun \ ˈslau̇ch \

Definition of slouch

1 a :an awkward fellow :lout

b :one that is unimpressive; especially :a lazy or incompetent person —used in negative constructions

was no slouch at cooking

2 :a gait or posture characterized by an ungainly stooping of the head and shoulders or excessive relaxation of body muscles

See slouch defined for English-language learners

See slouch defined for kids

Examples of slouch in a Sentence

She walks with a slouch.
is no slouch when it comes to cooking

Recent Examples of slouch from the Web

The defense won’t be a slouch, but the Browns won’t be able to survive with just Garrett’s pass rush.

— tom silverstein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "AFC: Patriots reload after Super Bowl victory," 25 Aug. 2017
Andy Dalton is no slouch either with a rating of 84.

— cleveland.com, "Madden NFL 18: Analyzing all 32 teams," 22 Aug. 2017
And Kate the great is no slouch in the bright-eyed department either, relying on the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat highlighter/concealer to make her face pop.

— donna freydkin, Allure, "Kate Middleton's Favorite Beauty Products," 21 Aug. 2017
But Mexico is no slouch, even though Washington doesn’t have the trading levels of California and Texas.

— jon talton, The Seattle Times, "Don’t forget Mexico as a major Washington trade partner," 13 July 2017
Saturday night's program is no slouch, either, with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Daya and Vocalight.

— chris foran, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "What to do in Milwaukee this weekend: Bastille Days, Air Show, South Shore Frolics," 13 July 2017
The real Saturn V may have been 363 feet tall and over six million pounds, but with 1,969 piece and standing at a majestic 39 inches, the Lego version is no slouch.

— eric limer, Popular Mechanics, "Watch Us Assemble the Giant Lego Saturn V Rocket," 30 June 2017
There is none of the pouty celebrity I-would-rather-be-doing-anything-other-than-this monosyllabic slouch, nor is every answer punctuated with Sorry-I-have-to-take-this-call.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "Cover Story: Serena Williams’s Love Match," 27 June 2017
The unusually long, oval egg of the Indonesian maleo may look a lot like a potato, but this bird is no slouch.

— National Geographic, "The Surprising Link Between Egg Shape and Bird Flight," 22 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'slouch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of slouch

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1515

See Words from the same year

slouch Synonyms

Synonyms

couch potato, deadbeat, do-nothing, drone, idler, layabout, loafer, lotus-eater, lazybones, slug, slugabed, sluggard

Antonyms

doer, go-ahead, go-getter, hummer, hustler, rustler, self-starter

Related Words

bum, good-for-nothing, ne'er-do-well; crawler, creeper, dawdler, laggard, putterer, slowpoke, snail, stick-in-the-mud, straggler; clock-watcher, goldbrick, malingerer, shirker, slacker; dallier, lingerer, loiterer, loller, lounger, saunterer; delayer, procrastinator; dropout, quitter

Near Antonyms

achiever, comer, highflier (or highflyer); live wire, powerhouse

slouch

verb

Definition of slouch

intransitive verb

1 :to walk, stand, or sit with a slouch :assume a slouch

2 :droop

3 :to go or move slowly or reluctantly

transitive verb

:to cause to droop

slouched his shoulders

—

sloucher

noun

See slouch defined for English-language learners

Examples of slouch in a Sentence

Sit up straight. Please don't slouch.
She slouched into the room.
The boy was slouching over his school books.

Recent Examples of slouch from the Web

Everyone thinks that a rock concert is really cool, but the musicians can go out there and be drunk and forget the words and slouch around on stage.

— caity weaver, GQ, "Lin-Manuel Miranda Can’t Believe You Think Musicals Are Nerdy," 18 Aug. 2017
The other plays stupid baseball and is slouching its way through the season.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Paul Daugherty: End of baseball season can't come soon enough," 14 Aug. 2017
Looking around other countries or regions around the world, probably all of us share some sense that the world is slouching toward another cycle of grave systemic crisis.

— philip zelikow, The Atlantic, "Is the World Slouching Toward a Grave Systemic Crisis?," 11 Aug. 2017
At the arraignment in the Poconos, Wong stared at a spot on the carpet as his fraternity brothers squirmed and slouched and tried to screw on brave faces.

— jay caspian kang, New York Times, "What a Fraternity Hazing Death Revealed About the Painful Search for an Asian-American Identity," 9 Aug. 2017
Muslet and Rawlins sit just in front of the lectern, staring up, eyes alight, like keen students, as Muslet’s children slouch against them.

— matt wolfe, New Republic, "Why did Yousef Muslet face life in prison for an everyday gesture?," 2 Aug. 2017
When the weekend concludes, Trump returns to the D.C. swamp with all the enthusiasm of an office lackey slouching toward his cubicle on Monday morning.

— alexander nazaryan, Newsweek, "Trump, America's Boy King: Golf and Television Won't Make America Great Again," 1 Aug. 2017
The man was slouched over in the driver's seat and the engine was running.

— bruce geiselman, cleveland.com, "North Olmsted police recover car reported stolen from Cleveland: police blotter," 29 July 2017
Gatti said Proactiva’s medical team believed the deaths occurred after the migrants slouched to the floor, possibly due to seasickness, then asphyxiated after inhaling fumes from the fuel that mixed with the salt water.

— andrew katz, TIME.com, "‘This Is Hell on Earth’," 26 July 2017

First Known Use of slouch

1754

slouch Synonyms

Synonyms

creak (along), creep, drag, inch, limp, nose, ooze, plod, poke, crawl, snail

Antonyms

fly, race, speed, whiz (or whizz), zip

Related Words

lumber, shamble, shuffle, tramp, trudge

Near Antonyms

float, glide, sail; hurry, tear

SLOUCH Defined for English Language Learners

slouch

play

noun

Definition of slouch for English Language Learners

: a way of walking, sitting, or standing with the head and shoulders bent forward
: a lazy or worthless person

slouch

verb

Definition of slouch for English Language Learners

: to walk, sit, or stand lazily with your head and shoulders bent forward

SLOUCH Defined for Kids

slouch

play

noun \ ˈslau̇ch \

Definition of slouch for Students

1 :a lazy worthless person

He's no slouch as a worker.

2 :a way of standing, sitting, or walking with the head and shoulders bent forward

slouch

verb

Definition of slouch for Students

slouched; slouching

:to walk, stand, or sit lazily with the head and shoulders bent forward

But their laughter slowly turned to silence till finally Peter slouched into a chair.
—Chris Van Allsburg, Jumanji

Learn More about slouch

See words that rhyme with slouch Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for slouch Spanish Central: Translation of slouch Nglish: Translation of slouch for Spanish speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up slouch? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

slouch

Definition of slouch

Explore M-W

Examples of slouch in a Sentence

Recent Examples of slouch from the Web

Origin and Etymology of slouch

slouch Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

slouch

Definition of slouch

sloucher

Examples of slouch in a Sentence

Recent Examples of slouch from the Web

First Known Use of slouch

slouch Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

SLOUCH Defined for English Language Learners

slouch

Definition of slouch for English Language Learners

slouch

Definition of slouch for English Language Learners

SLOUCH Defined for Kids

slouch

Definition of slouch for Students

slouch

Definition of slouch for Students

Learn More about slouch

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

'Diffuse' vs. 'Defuse'

Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'

These Are Fighting Words

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Words of the Year: 1066