as in punch
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
one well aimed slug on the head knocked him out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in snail
a lazy person
he's always a slug in the morning, which is why he prefers to sleep late
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to punch
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
she got so angry that she slugged the back of the chair and knocked it over
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 slug
Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 6 May 2026
Similarly, slugs and snails are less likely to travel across jagged surfaces, which can make pine cones a helpful barrier around vulnerable plants like lettuce or hostas.
—Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 6 May 2026
Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 1 May 2026
Langeliers was second on the A’s in WAR behind slugging first baseman Nick Kurtz last year and leads the team so far this season.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for slug
Noun
Toads help control snails, slugs, caterpillars, and other invertebrates—pests that have the potential to harm your garden plants, says Amarello.
—Michelle Mastro, Martha Stewart, 6 May 2026
Similarly, slugs and snails are less likely to travel across jagged surfaces, which can make pine cones a helpful barrier around vulnerable plants like lettuce or hostas.
—Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 6 May 2026
Verb
But that doesn’t heal the pain the Braves’ (not so much) slugging third baseman has suffered through.
—Chad Bishop, AJC.com, 1 May 2026
Langeliers was second on the A’s in WAR behind slugging first baseman Nick Kurtz last year and leads the team so far this season.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for slug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slug
Noun
-
There will be more punches to absorb in what has been the defining series of the second round.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
-
However, there’s usually an honor code with that – nothing else but punches and giving the fight crowd a show.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
About 20 races took place at Folsom City Lions Park, with up to nine snails per heat climbing one-foot poles; Mayor Justin Raithel motivated his snail with lettuce and made the semifinals before finishing fourth.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
11 May 2026
-
And cyclists, bus drivers, walkers and the motoring public need to have a head on a swivel paired with the calmness of a snail around such intersections — a lot could be going on.—
Jim Radcliffe,
Oc Register,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
Saturday and Sunday Visit beautiful local gardens, sip on some wine and support a local elementary school with Mom on Sunday in East Sacramento.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
6 May 2026
-
The child was allegedly forced to drink half of the pint of the whiskey as punishment for taking a sip from the bottle, per The Advocate.—
Christine Pelisek,
PEOPLE,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Sloane, who has increased his fastball velocity by over 10 mph since last spring and now reaches 90, hit the gym hard.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
-
During their semifinal win over Wisconsin, the Bruins hit four home runs and pushed their NCAA record single-season team home run total to 181.—
Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
Amid aspersions and attack ads, the pair nearly came to blows at a community debate.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
-
From there, both fighters were trading blows, but the fifth round was when Strickland had an interesting moment with Chimaev.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates, an ally of the United States and Israel, including at its energy infrastructure.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
12 May 2026
-
The advance could help push battery energy density far beyond the limits of current lithium-ion systems used in most commercial drones.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
This primordial gulp, creating a condition known as endosymbiosis (also thought to be the origin story of mitochondria), is believed to have happened just once.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
4 May 2026
-
Jimmy Butler was retained for, gulp, Kyle Lowry and, double-gulp, Terry Rozier.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The same day that the nanny allegedly beat Walter, other caregivers slapped and flogged his siblings, including with shoes and wooden sticks.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
-
Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slug. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
