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
Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
For decades the capital had worked like a slowly exploding atom bomb, inhaling poor Filipinos from the provinces and spitting them into distant suburbs, transforming rural barangays into slums of concrete and zinc.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 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
To make way for the development, the old slums—in which roughly a quarter of residents were Black—had been cleared away.
—Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
For decades the capital had worked like a slowly exploding atom bomb, inhaling poor Filipinos from the provinces and spitting them into distant suburbs, transforming rural barangays into slums of concrete and zinc.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 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 2 Feb. 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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