slammed; slamming
1
: to shut forcibly and noisily : bang
2
a
: to set or slap down violently or noisily
slammed down the phone
b
: to propel, thrust, or produce by or as if by striking hard
slam on the brakes
slammed the car into a wall
3
: to strike or beat hard : knock
4
: to criticize harshly
1
: to make a banging noise
2
: to function (as in moving) with emphatic and usually noisy vigor
the hurricane slammed into the coast
slammed out of the room
3
: to utter verbal abuse or harsh criticism
1
a
: a noisy violent closing
b
: a banging noise
especially
: one made by the slam of a door
2
: a heavy blow or impact
3
: a poetry competition performed before judges
4
: a cutting or violent criticism
5
: slammer
1
2
Synonyms
Verb
Noun (1)
- bang
- bash
- bat
- beat
- belt
- biff
- blow
- bop
- box
- buffet
- bust
- chop
- clap
- clip
- clout
- crack
- cuff
- dab
- douse [British]
- fillip
- hack
- haymaker
- hit
- hook
- knock
- larrup [dialect]
- lash
- lick
- pelt
- pick
- plump
- poke
- pound
- punch
- rap
- slap
- slug
- smack
- smash
- sock
- spank
- stinger
- stripe
- stroke
- swat
- swipe
- switch
- thud
- thump
- thwack
- wallop
- welt
- whack
- wham
- whop
- whap
Examples of slam in a Sentence
Verb
He slammed the door in my face.
She slammed the drawer shut.
He stepped inside and let the door slam behind him.
In her anger, she slammed the ball against the fence.
The car slid on the ice and slammed into a tree.
Her arm slammed against the table.
Recent Examples on the Web
Julia Jester, NBC News, 16 Apr. 2024
The suspect slams the truck in reverse and backs up through the parking lot.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 15 Apr. 2024
This group’s numbers have shrunk by 770,000 since February 2020, just before COVID-19 slammed the economy.
—Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
More recently, when a cargo ship lost power and slammed into Baltimore’s Key Bridge, critics suggested that DEI was somehow at fault.
—Adia Harvey Wingfield, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2024
The courts in Virginia came to the same conclusion last year, slamming Deja Taylor with convictions on federal gun charges after her 6-year-old swiped a gun from her handbag and took it to school.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
His four clubs suggests 10 or more cards in the black suits and slam interest.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
Crews have been working to remove wreckage from the site where a massive cargo ship slammed into the bridge in the early morning hours of March 26, causing the structure to collapse into the channel and killing six construction workers.
—Raja Razek, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
McCrimmon’s Fanny, by contrast, has the hectic air of a jobbing performer, a scrapper more than a sure thing, one who learned to talk as fast as humanly possible before the door slams in her face.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Wiggins aggressively got downhill to answer a Franz Wagner whirling finish, then Moody followed up a miss for a putback slam.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024
Shohei Ohtani singled twice, drove in a run and walked ahead of Freeman’s slam.
—Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024
Located in a former mayonnaise factory, and famous for its sunken reflecting pool, Galapagos Art Space attracts crowds who might encounter a poetry slam or a musician blowing into a didgeridoo.
—New York Times, 29 Jan. 2024
When East can’t ruff, South returns a trump to his hand and runs the diamonds to make the slam.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
The slam was so powerful that both players were left feeling the effects of it in the immediate aftermath.
—Sam Joseph, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024
The reigning national player of the year shook off 3-of-9 shooting in the first half by moving closer to the basket with three dunks, the last slam pushing Purdue ahead 57-55 with 12:27 remaining.
—Phillip B. Wilson, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024
The teams traded turnovers before Martin finished the game with a monster slam, his fifth of the game, off an inbounds pass with 10 seconds to play.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024
Verb
Earlier Monday, two senior law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation told NBC News that the FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the cargo ship that slammed into the bridge.
—Julia Jester, NBC News, 16 Apr. 2024
The suspect slams the truck in reverse and backs up through the parking lot.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 15 Apr. 2024
This group’s numbers have shrunk by 770,000 since February 2020, just before COVID-19 slammed the economy.
—Paul Wiseman, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024
More recently, when a cargo ship lost power and slammed into Baltimore’s Key Bridge, critics suggested that DEI was somehow at fault.
—Adia Harvey Wingfield, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2024
The courts in Virginia came to the same conclusion last year, slamming Deja Taylor with convictions on federal gun charges after her 6-year-old swiped a gun from her handbag and took it to school.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
His four clubs suggests 10 or more cards in the black suits and slam interest.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
Crews have been working to remove wreckage from the site where a massive cargo ship slammed into the bridge in the early morning hours of March 26, causing the structure to collapse into the channel and killing six construction workers.
—Raja Razek, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
McCrimmon’s Fanny, by contrast, has the hectic air of a jobbing performer, a scrapper more than a sure thing, one who learned to talk as fast as humanly possible before the door slams in her face.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
Chicago South Side native Mari Zavala raised her eyes at the shining red giant that spits out packets of ketchup with a slam of your hand.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
Wiggins aggressively got downhill to answer a Franz Wagner whirling finish, then Moody followed up a miss for a putback slam.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024
Shohei Ohtani singled twice, drove in a run and walked ahead of Freeman’s slam.
—Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024
Located in a former mayonnaise factory, and famous for its sunken reflecting pool, Galapagos Art Space attracts crowds who might encounter a poetry slam or a musician blowing into a didgeridoo.
—New York Times, 29 Jan. 2024
When East can’t ruff, South returns a trump to his hand and runs the diamonds to make the slam.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
The slam was so powerful that both players were left feeling the effects of it in the immediate aftermath.
—Sam Joseph, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024
The reigning national player of the year shook off 3-of-9 shooting in the first half by moving closer to the basket with three dunks, the last slam pushing Purdue ahead 57-55 with 12:27 remaining.
—Phillip B. Wilson, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024
The teams traded turnovers before Martin finished the game with a monster slam, his fifth of the game, off an inbounds pass with 10 seconds to play.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slam.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near slam
Cite this Entry
“Slam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slam. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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