plural slums
: a densely populated usually urban area marked especially by poverty
slummed; slumming; slums
: to visit slums especially out of curiosity
broadly
: to go somewhere or do something that might be considered beneath one's station
—sometimes used with it
slumming it in budget hotels
slummer
noun
Examples of slum in a Sentence
Noun
He grew up in the slums of New York.
Verb
He sometimes likes to go slumming in bars around the city.
Recent Examples on the Web
Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 7 Jan. 2026
Eventually, women’s groups from these slums began to survey residents to better understand their concerns and share them with officials.
—Saumya Roy, The Dial, 6 Jan. 2026
The Editors, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
New York’s cinephiles will no longer have to slum it at AMC or Regal.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for slum
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Noun
Her source material is a pair of cassette tapes recorded by Dueñez in the ’90s, two of a series of bootlegs that the sonidero and his wife sold at the flea market along the Puente del Papa, a bridge connecting Monterrey’s prosperous city center with its mountainside slums.
—Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 7 Jan. 2026
Eventually, women’s groups from these slums began to survey residents to better understand their concerns and share them with officials.
—Saumya Roy, The Dial, 6 Jan. 2026
Verb
Running in the former Pyramid Club space (imagine a small sweaty party in the 1980s where celebrities slummed it with art kids), Night Club 101 has become the room every independent musician wants to play.
—The Editors, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025
New York’s cinephiles will no longer have to slum it at AMC or Regal.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for slum
Cite this Entry
“Slum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slum. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
slum
1 of 2 noun
: a thickly populated section especially of a city marked by crowding, dirty run-down housing, and generally poor living conditions
slum
2 of 2 verb
slummed; slumming
: to visit slums especially out of curiosity
slummer
noun
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