Illustration of slug
- slug 3
1
: sluggard
2
: a lump, disk, or cylinder of material (such as plastic or metal): such as
a(1)
: a musket ball
(2)
: bullet
b
: a piece of metal roughly shaped for subsequent processing
c
: a $50 gold piece
d
: a disk for insertion in a slot machine
especially
: one used illegally instead of a coin
3
: any of numerous chiefly terrestrial pulmonate gastropods (order Stylommatophora) that are found in most parts of the world where there is a reasonable supply of moisture and are closely related to the land snails but are long and wormlike and have only a rudimentary shell often buried in the mantle or entirely absent
4
: a smooth soft larva of a sawfly or moth that creeps like a mollusk
5
a
: a quantity of liquor drunk in one swallow
b
: a detached mass of fluid (such as water vapor or oil) that causes impact (as in a circulating system)
6
a
: a strip of metal thicker than a printer's lead
b
: a line of type cast as one piece
c
: a usually temporary type line serving to instruct or identify
7
: the gravitational unit of mass in the foot-pound-second system to which a pound force can impart an acceleration of one foot per second per second and which is equal to the mass of an object weighing 32 pounds
slugged; slugging
: a heavy blow especially with the fist
slugged; slugging
1
: to strike heavily with or as if with the fist or a bat
2
: fight sense 4b
—usually used in the phrase slug it out
Synonyms
Noun (1)
- couch potato
- deadbeat
- do-nothing
- drone
- idler
- layabout
- lazybones
- loafer
- lotus-eater
- slouch
- slugabed
- sluggard
Noun (2)
- bang
- bash
- bat
- beat
- belt
- biff
- blow
- bop
- box
- buffet
- bust
- chop
- clap
- clip
- clout
- crack
- cuff
- dab
- douse [British]
- fillip
- hack
- haymaker
- hit
- hook
- knock
- larrup [dialect]
- lash
- lick
- pelt
- pick
- plump
- poke
- pound
- punch
- rap
- slam
- slap
- smack
- smash
- sock
- spank
- stinger
- stripe
- stroke
- swat
- swipe
- switch
- thud
- thump
- thwack
- wallop
- welt
- whack
- wham
- whop
- whap
Verb (2)
Examples of slug in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Justine McDaniel, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2023
The species is predatory, eating other organisms that commonly live in dirt like earthworms, snails, slugs and arthropods.
—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 26 July 2023
Finally, the team dives into a grab-bag of listener questions, including managing daddy long legs and slugs effectively.
—Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Aug. 2023
Thoroughly washing produce can help prevent accidental consumption of snails or slugs that might be on the food.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Sep. 2023
As a result, to avoid getting infected, the CDC recommends not eating raw or undercooked snails, slugs, frogs or shrimp.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Sep. 2023
Young leaves are also susceptible to slugs and snails.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2023
One paper, published last month in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, confirms moose are indeed eating snails and slugs.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Sep. 2023
The 17-year-old Shields dances and slugs her way past her 33-year-old opponent.
2016 — Michael Phelps adds to his Olympic record medal haul twice.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2023
Dan Freedman, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
As for slugging — coating your skin in petroleum jelly for hydration — Paltrow has no opinion.
—Mia McNiece, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023
Edouard Julien slugged a solo homer to cut the deficit to a run in the sixth, but that was all Minnesota would have left in the tank.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 12 Oct. 2023
Rafael Devers leads Boston with 29 home runs while slugging .506.
—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 4 Sep. 2023
However, the Twins — who slugged three home runs combined off Burke and then Josh Sborz an inning later — might’ve seen things differently.
—Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 2 Sep. 2023
Petroleum jelly—most commonly sold as Vaseline—is used for body slugging.
—Claudia Herwig, Glamour, 7 Nov. 2023
Despite winning 97 games in 1964, the Orioles didn’t reach the World Series until 1966, the year another Robinson — slugging outfielder Frank Robinson — was acquired in a trade with Cincinnati.
—Gary Gately, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2023
The Rangers slugged their way to a 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, winning their wild-card playoff series.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 4 Oct. 2023
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Noun
Downeast Maine had a more solid slug of moderate rainfall, with between 1½ and 2 inches falling by 11 a.m. in a couple of spots.
—Justine McDaniel, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2023
The species is predatory, eating other organisms that commonly live in dirt like earthworms, snails, slugs and arthropods.
—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 26 July 2023
Finally, the team dives into a grab-bag of listener questions, including managing daddy long legs and slugs effectively.
—Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 4 Aug. 2023
Thoroughly washing produce can help prevent accidental consumption of snails or slugs that might be on the food.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Sep. 2023
As a result, to avoid getting infected, the CDC recommends not eating raw or undercooked snails, slugs, frogs or shrimp.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Sep. 2023
Young leaves are also susceptible to slugs and snails.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2023
One paper, published last month in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, confirms moose are indeed eating snails and slugs.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Sep. 2023
The 17-year-old Shields dances and slugs her way past her 33-year-old opponent.
2016 — Michael Phelps adds to his Olympic record medal haul twice.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2023
Verb
In that time, Pujols hit 146 home runs, drove in 488, slugged .474, and accrued 14.8 bWAR.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
As for slugging — coating your skin in petroleum jelly for hydration — Paltrow has no opinion.
—Mia McNiece, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023
Edouard Julien slugged a solo homer to cut the deficit to a run in the sixth, but that was all Minnesota would have left in the tank.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 12 Oct. 2023
Rafael Devers leads Boston with 29 home runs while slugging .506.
—Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 4 Sep. 2023
However, the Twins — who slugged three home runs combined off Burke and then Josh Sborz an inning later — might’ve seen things differently.
—Shawn McFarland, Dallas News, 2 Sep. 2023
Petroleum jelly—most commonly sold as Vaseline—is used for body slugging.
—Claudia Herwig, Glamour, 7 Nov. 2023
Despite winning 97 games in 1964, the Orioles didn’t reach the World Series until 1966, the year another Robinson — slugging outfielder Frank Robinson — was acquired in a trade with Cincinnati.
—Gary Gately, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2023
The Rangers slugged their way to a 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, winning their wild-card playoff series.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 4 Oct. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slug.' 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 (1)
Middle English slugge, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect slugga to walk sluggishly
Noun (2)
perhaps from slug to load with slugs
First Known Use
Noun (1)
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb (1)
1912, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun (2)
1830, in the meaning defined above
Verb (2)
circa 1861, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of slug was
in the 15th century
Phrases Containing slug
Dictionary Entries Near slug
Cite this Entry
“Slug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slug. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
slug
1 of 3 nounslug
2 of 3 noun
: a heavy blow especially with the fist
slug
3 of 3 verb
slugged; slugging
: to strike heavily with or as if with the fist or a bat
Etymology
Noun
Middle English slugge "a lazy person"; of Scandinavian origin
Noun
perhaps from earlier slug (verb) "to load (a weapon) with slugs"
More from Merriam-Webster on slug
Nglish: Translation of slug for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of slug for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about slug
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