slave 1 of 2

Definition of slavenext
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

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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

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slave

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of slave
Noun
After the slaves were freed and cotton was no longer king, a different sort of richness was pulled from the ground in Walker County. USA Today, 8 Mar. 2026 Consider Marie-Jeanne Lamartinière of the Haitian Revolution — the most successful slave revolt in the Atlantic world. Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 8 Mar. 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
  • Lawyer and TikToker Reb Masel emphasized that the case is but one in a long list of lawsuits over parody, freedom of speech, and the rights of public figures and servants compared to those of private citizens.
    Bethy Squires, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Nozomi Kato, who beautifully sings the loyal servant Suzuki, offers a quietly moving performance.
    Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Many laborers are still exhausted and underpaid.
    Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Construction of the Pennsylvania Canal system, which connected Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in the 1830s, relied on Irish laborers to perform grueling excavation work.
    Paula Kane, The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Irish workers also labored in rail yards and mines in the area.
    Paula Kane, The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2026
  • My fascination extended to gardeners, who voluntarily labored to create something with no hope of permanence.
    Amy Waldman, Travel + Leisure, 9 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • In Florida, a defendant usually pays 10% of the total bond amount to a bondsman to bail out of jail.
    Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
  • Cole works in the office of a bail bondsman in northern Virginia, the charging document states.
    Matt Lavietes, NBC news, 5 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • The rupture occurred as the agency was wrapping up major infrastructure upgrades at the facility, injuring one worker and prompting a Yuba River conservation group to report that hundreds, and possibly thousands, of young Chinook salmon were stranded and died in the rocks along the shore.
    Chaewon Chung March 13, Sacbee.com, 14 Mar. 2026
  • They got married, had a daughter, and moved out of the housing that Looney was required to provide to his foreign workers into their own house on Route 61, the famous blues highway.
    Boyce Upholt, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • More surprisingly, strategies typically seen as beneficiaries of volatility have also struggled.
    Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 18 Mar. 2026
  • The two then struggled over their firearms.
    CBS Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • These are human beings, not chattel.
    Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Before meeting Rael-Gálvez, Daria Celeste Landress had learned while researching her family history that three Indigenous ancestors had been listed in historical documents as chattel, alongside furniture, houses, and trees.
    Geraldo Cadava, New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • As a skilled keyboard player, drummer, and vocalist, David consistently pushes himself to new heights, never settling for complacency and always striving to improve.
    Heide Janssen, Oc Register, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Hence, as Mideastern countries have striven to diversify their economies by transforming raw resources into higher value products, fertilizer production has become a major industry.
    Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.

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