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
Examples of slug in a Sentence
Noun (1)
he's always a slug in the morning, which is why he prefers to sleep late
knocked back another slug of whiskey
Noun (2)
one well aimed slug on the head knocked him out
Verb (2)
she got so angry that she slugged the back of the chair and knocked it over
Recent Examples on the Web
Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2025
All the pieces seem to fit, producing a symphony of contact and occasional crescendo of slug.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
Dodgers still aren’t hitting homers like last year Here’s the thing about the Dodgers’ World Series run a year ago — it was fueled by their bullpen but was predicated on an offense that churned out runs and slugged their way through October.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slug
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Noun
Sturdy cloches can keep slugs, snails, and many other pests from feeding on veggies, herbs, and flowers.
—Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Oct. 2025
All the pieces seem to fit, producing a symphony of contact and occasional crescendo of slug.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
After a scoreless sixth inning from both teams, the Dodgers came alive in the seventh as All-Star catcher Will Smith launched a solo home run, and slugging third baseman Max Muncy hit a solo shot of his own.
—Gabe Smallson, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025
Dodgers still aren’t hitting homers like last year Here’s the thing about the Dodgers’ World Series run a year ago — it was fueled by their bullpen but was predicated on an offense that churned out runs and slugged their way through October.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slug
Cite this Entry
“Slug.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slug. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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"
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