slam

• (UK) IPA^(key): /slæm/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æm

From Middle English *slammen (not recorded), apparently from a Scandinavian source ultimately from Old Norse slæma, slœma (“to slam, swing a weapon, strike an object out of reach”), related to Old Norse slamra, slambra (“to slam”). Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål slamre (“to slam”), Swedish slamra (“to pound, beat, make a clatter, rattle”), Norwegian Nynorsk slamra (“to sway, dangle”).

slam (third-person singular simple present slams, present participle slamming, simple past and past participle slammed)

1. (transitive, ergative) To shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.

   Don't slam the door!

   • 2021 May 19, George Monbiot, “Britain’s borders: wide open to Covid, slammed shut for people in need”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     Britain’s borders: wide open to Covid, slammed shut for people in need [title]

2. (transitive, ergative) To put in or on a particular place with force and loud noise. (Often followed by a preposition such as down, against or into.)

   Don't slam that trunk down on the pavement!

   • 2020 June 3, Michael McGowan, “NSW police commissioner says officer who slammed Indigenous teen to ground ‘had a bad day’”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     The New South Wales police commissioner has defended the officer who was filmed slamming an Indigenous boy face-first on to a pavement in Sydney, saying the officer “had a bad day”.

3. (transitive, intransitive) To strike forcefully with some implement.
   • 2011 January 18, “Wolverhampton 5 - 0 Doncaster”, in BBC‎:

     But Wolves went in front when Steven Fletcher headed in Stephen Hunt's cross and it was 2-0 when Geoffrey Mujangi Bia slammed in his first for the club.

4. (intransitive) To strike against suddenly and heavily.

   The boat slammed into the bank and we were almost thrown into the river.

   • 1978 January 5 [1977 December 30], “PRC Vessel Collides with ROC Fishing Boat off Matsu”, in Daily Report: Asia & Pacific‎, volume IV, number 3, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, →ISSN, →OCLC, page B 2:

     The 6-ton fishing boat Kuanghua 15638 was slammed by the communist vessel near the Liuchuan reefs off the coast of Chukuang and drifted toward Nanchu after the collision.

   • 2021 February 24, Paul Stephen, “Level crossings are one of our key risk areas”, in RAIL, number 925, page 46:

     Seven people were killed and 66 injured after a High Speed Train slammed into a stationary vehicle that had been parked across the main line by a suicidal driver.

5. (transitive, slang) To strike and take the life of or at least incapacitate for some time.
   • 2020 April 15, Tremz (lyrics and music), “Lightwork Freestyle”‎:

     They want me nicked, they want me slammed
     Fuckin' snitch had me on remand

6. (transitive, sports slang) To defeat or overcome in a match.

   The Armenian football team has slammed the Turks 6–0.

7. (transitive, colloquial, originally US) To speak badly of; to criticize forcefully.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:criticize

   Antonyms: back, support

   Don't ever slam me in front of the boss like that again!

   Union leaders slammed the new proposals.

   Critics slammed the new film, calling it violent and meaningless.

   • 2022 October 15, Martin Pengelly, “Roger Stone slammed Ivanka Trump after not getting pardoned, video shows”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     Roger Stone slammed Ivanka Trump after not getting pardoned, video shows[.] Republican operative calls Trump an ‘abortionist bitch’ in video released by film-maker who provided footage to January 6 panel[.]

   • 2023 January 8, Edwin Rios, “Biden’s ‘carrot and stick’ approach to deter migrants met with anger”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     On Twitter, United We Dream, an immigrant youth-led rights group, slammed Biden’s new policy “a racist and classist attack” on migrants.

8. To compete in a poetry slam.
9. (basketball) To dunk forcefully, to slam dunk.
10. (transitive, telecommunications) To move a customer from one service provider to another without their consent.
11. (transitive) To drink off, to drink quickly.

    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:drink

    • 2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 134:

      17 slam some go juice Big project this afternoon? In stressful situations, glucose-rich drinks improve mood and mental performance, say Dutch researchers.

12. (transitive, intransitive, drugs, slang) To inject intravenously; shoot up.

    Synonym: bang

    • 2017, James Wharton, Something for the Weekend‎, Biteback Publishing, →ISBN:

      I mentioned earlier how many people will draw lines in the sand that they'll never cross: some won't try Tina, others will never slam.

13. (transitive, sex, slang, vulgar) To perform coitus upon forcefully; to rail.
    • 2015, Tremz (lyrics and music), “Sketty Bums Get Wild”‎:

      Your bird's textin' me
      'Tremzy is the man,'
      You be tryna call her but she's busy gettin' slammed
      The way she's gettin' doggied you would think she's tryna dance

14. (informal, US) To occupy and busy with a high workload.
    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:slam. And Citations:slammed.

slam (countable and uncountable, plural slams)

1. (countable) A sudden impact or blow.
   • 1981, Shel Silverstein, “How Many, How Much”, in A Light in the Attic, Harper & Row:

     How many slams in an old screen door? / Depends how loud you shut it.

2. (countable) The shock and noise produced by violently closing a door or other object.
   • 1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 35, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:

     The slam and the scowl were lost upon Sam.

3. (countable, basketball) A slam dunk.
4. (countable, tennis) One of the competitions of the yearly Grand Slam events.
5. (countable, colloquial, US) An insult.

   I don't mean this as a slam, but you can be really impatient sometimes.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     “Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.

6. (uncountable, UK, dialect) The yellow iron silicate produced in alum works as a waste product.
7. A poetry slam.
8. A slambook.
   • 2017, Mark Duffett, Fan Identities and Practices in Context: Dedicated to Music, page 194:

     Regular friendship books had a variety of variations, such as slams, crams, and decos.

   • 2019, Manjit Bal, Lovingly Yours - Penpals:

     Pen pals also make and pass around friendship books, slams and crams. In recent years, pen pal correspondence with prison inmates has gained acceptance on the Internet.

9. (music, uncountable) A subgenre of death metal with elements of hardcore punk focusing on midtempo rhythms, breakdowns and palm-muted riffs.

Unknown and long-speculated, though perhaps at least reinforced by Etymology 1.

slam (countable and uncountable, plural slams)

1. (uncountable, obsolete) A type of card game, also called ruff and honours.
2. A card game, played all at once without separate turns, in which players attempt to get rid of their cards as quickly as possible according to certain rules.

   Synonym: spit

3. (countable, card games) Losing or winning all the tricks in a game.
4. (countable, bridge) A bid of six (small slam) or seven (grand slam) in a suit or no trump.
5. (countable, sports) Winning all (or all but one) of the available, major or specified events in a given year or sports season.
   • 1955 August, “Carolina Grand Prix Benefits Crippled Children”, in American Motorcyclist, volume 9, number 8, page 21:

     In the 125 Grand Prix, I. D. Fuller (4) made it a grand slam by setting the fastest time trial, winning his heat and getting the checkered flag in the final.

   • 2012, Mark Stibbe, I am Your Father: What every heart needs to know, →ISBN, page 178:

     I have never been a fan of tennis, I'll be honest, but even I can appreciate a great tennis player when I see one, and one of the finest of all was the American champion, Andre Agassi. Agassi was at one time number one in the world. He won eight grand slam titles (including a Wimbledon title) and a gold medal in the Olympic Games.

   • 2014, Anthony Pritchard, Grand Prix Ferrari: The Years of Enzo Ferrari’s Power, 1948-1980, →ISBN:

     Musso then passed Collins and, only briefly, it looked as though there might be a Ferrari grand slam.

• golden slam
• grand slam
• little slam
• small slam

slam (third-person singular simple present slams, present participle slamming, simple past and past participle slammed)

1. (transitive, card games) To defeat (opponents at cards) by winning all the tricks of a deal or a hand.
   • 1742, Edmond Hoyle, A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist:

     D having seven Spades in his Hand wins them, and consequently slams A and B

2. (intransitive, bridge) To make a slam bid.

Compare Dutch slomp, German Schlampe.

slam (plural slams)

1. (obsolete) A shambling fellow.

• Jonathon Green (2024) “slam v.¹”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

• ALMS, ALMs, AMLs, AMSL, Alms, LAMs, Lams, MASL, MSAL, SAML, alms, lams, mals, masl, salm

• IPA^(key): [ˈslam]

slam

1. genitive plural of sláma

• Audio

  (file)

slam m (plural slams)

1. poetry slam

• IPA^(key): [slam]

slam

1. dative of slě

From German Schlamm.

slam n (definite singular slammet, uncountable)

1. mud, ooze, slime, sludge, slurry

• “slam” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “slam” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

From German Schlamm.

slam n (definite singular slammet, uncountable)

1. mud, ooze, slime, sludge, slurry

• “slam” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Borrowed from Middle Low German slam. Cognate of German Schlamm. Further origin disputed. Attested since 1587.

slam n

1. silt, sludge, slurry

• avloppslam
• rötslam
• slamavskiljare
• slambassäng
• slambrunn
• slamkrypare
• slamsug
• slamsugare
• slamsugning

• slamma
• slammig

Borrowed from English slam. Attested since 1787.

slam c

1. (card games) slam (winning all the tricks in a game, such as bridge)

• lillslam
• storslam

• slam in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• slam in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• slam in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• slam in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

• sam

From Proto-Tai *saːm. From Middle Chinese 三 (MC sam|samH). Cognate with Thai สาม (sǎam), Northern Thai ᩈᩣ᩠ᨾ, Lao ສາມ (sām), Lü ᦉᦱᧄ (ṡaam), Tai Dam ꪎꪱꪣ, Shan သၢမ် (sǎam), Tai Nüa ᥔᥣᥛᥴ (sáam), Ahom 𑜏𑜪 (saṃ), Bouyei saaml, Zhuang sam.

• (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [ɬaːm˧˥]
• (Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [θaːm˦]

slam (三)

1. three

slam

1. Islam