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
People don't know that the Republicans are the party that freed the slaves. Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 29 Mar. 2026 Jews celebrate the freeing of Israelite slaves from Egypt and Moses guiding them to the Promised Land. Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 28 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
  • The latter is less of a mother to Agnes than Rosa (Kira Guloien), one of the household’s many Marthas (put-upon domestic servants).
    Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Her house is immense and kept in immaculate condition by her family’s servants (the Marthas).
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 2 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In contrast, the Fraternal Order of Eagles advocated for pensions for industrial wage laborers—for people who had worked in jobs that wore out their bodies and left them physically unable to work.
    Trevor Jackson, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Harris survived because his older sister, Rosa, worked as a slave laborer in the concentration camp outside of Dęblin.
    Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 2 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • That took hundreds of people within Apple laboring over technical details like the screen’s lamination and moisture rejection, according to a former Apple engineering leader.
    Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Senators already labored for weeks to try to find agreement on Democrats’ demand that any funding for the Department of Homeland Security come with restrictions on how federal immigration agents conduct enforcement.
    Joey Cappelletti, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 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
  • Chats with friends and co-workers alike can do a lot to improve the flow of your schedule.
    Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 4 Apr. 2026
  • The two started out at the YMCA as community health workers and went back at least a decade.
    Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Predator ranks growing California is struggling to manage the behavior of other predators whose ranks are growing thanks to the state’s conservation programs and endangered species protections.
    Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 8 Apr. 2026
  • His campaign goals included reinstating and expanding bus services, attracting additional low-income housing options through federal and state grants, and increasing resource distribution by the city to homeless residents and those struggling with addiction.
    Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 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
  • The City Council could vote to revive the program more immediately under this option but would have to use money allocated to Vision Zero, which is the initiative striving to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 6 Apr. 2026
  • Family is kind of what bands strive to be.
    Steve Appleford, SPIN, 6 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.

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