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
Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
Pierre is from Cite Soleil, a seaside slum that has endured violence and hunger for years and serves as a base for powerful gang leaders.
—ABC News, 27 May 2026
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Dahlia, a disillusioned police aide, breaks into the mansion of the corrupt police chief Bernal and steals the money from his safe, unloading the funds to slum dwellers whose settlement Bernal razed down.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for slum
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Noun
Attacks on statutory rights are pushing these countries back to conditions reminiscent of the late nineteenth century, when poverty and slums were the norm for a working class with no social safety net.
—Literary Hub, 28 May 2026
Pierre is from Cite Soleil, a seaside slum that has endured violence and hunger for years and serves as a base for powerful gang leaders.
—ABC News, 27 May 2026
Verb
Dahlia, a disillusioned police aide, breaks into the mansion of the corrupt police chief Bernal and steals the money from his safe, unloading the funds to slum dwellers whose settlement Bernal razed down.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Dahlia, a disillusioned police aide, breaks into the mansion of the corrupt police chief Bernal and steals the money from his safe, unloading the funds to slum dwellers whose settlement Bernal razed down.
—Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 14 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for slum
Cite this Entry
“Slum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slum. Accessed 29 May. 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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