1
as in servant
a person who is considered the property of another person
many American slaves reached freedom in the North through the network known as the Underground Railroad
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work
unappreciated office slaves who perform the necessary but tedious task of filing paperwork
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
slaving over a hot stove
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of slave
Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Being a miserable slave is something else.
—Matt Brown, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
Defined by exhaustion from slaving away at the ironing board while confronting the latest family crisis, Angela is quite capable of whipping up baloney sandwiches with mayonnaise for all and functions as a wise-cracking, big-hearted den mother.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slave
Noun
The pope, at this very moment, is having the fallen part of the Colosseum rebuilt; half a dozen mason’s apprentices, without any scaffolding, are righting the colossus on whose shoulders a nation, transformed into slave laborers, perished.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Being a miserable slave is something else.
—Matt Brown, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026
Verb
After two years away on loan while Leeds were slaving away in the second tier, the winger has returned to find his old No 11 shirt in Brenden Aaronson’s possession.
—The Athletic Uk Staff, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2025
Defined by exhaustion from slaving away at the ironing board while confronting the latest family crisis, Angela is quite capable of whipping up baloney sandwiches with mayonnaise for all and functions as a wise-cracking, big-hearted den mother.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 4 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
Noun
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That made kid gloves the perfect choice for a servant handling fine silverware, where even a fingerprint could spoil the dinner presentation.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Making the Fed the servant of the White House would hobble one of the few institutions capable of limiting the overreach of a power-mad president.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The trade was halted, and ships carrying Polynesian laborers were ordered back.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
We’re told that golf balls fished out of a pond are worth more than these laborers.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Johnson labored through a tender calf, cramping and fatigue.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Federal standards to protect coal miners and workers who labor in extreme heat finally inched closer to implementation, and dancers in Washington State organized to win a Strippers’ Bill of Rights.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Cole works in the office of a bail bondsman in northern Virginia, the charging document states.—
Matt Lavietes,
NBC news,
5 Dec. 2025
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Plus, bail bondsmen are the ultimate local rent seekers.—
Dan Gooding
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Tech giants flourish or falter based on their decisions to overhaul themselves, often leaving tens of thousands of workers to pay the price.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
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Yazoo Valley Electric Power Association workers, some of whom don't have power at their own homes, are working 16-hour days to restore electricity in Mississippi.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As China struggles with a prolonged economic slump, and the US has emerged with the highest number of billionaires in the world, with over 900 (up from 813 in 2024), more splashy events in the country will follow.—
Kati Chitrakorn,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
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His promotion comes at a moment when streaming, film and sports media remain in flux, and big studios and networks are struggling to predict how audiences will be consuming media three years from now.—
Allie Canal,
NBC news,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Patriarchal cultures reduce women to economic dependence, treating them as a form of chattel to be traded among families.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
-
There was no forgetting the notorious Confederate prison camps like Andersonville and Salisbury, the Confederate pogrom at Fort Pillow, and the fact that the South had seceded in the first place to perpetuate and expand an elite-serving economy based on human chattel.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Zelenskyy is also striving to keep the world’s attention focused on Ukraine despite other conflicts.—
Kamila Hrabchuk,
Fortune,
22 Jan. 2026
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Zelensky is also striving to keep the world’s attention focused on Ukraine despite other conflicts.—
Kamila Hrabchuk,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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