slew
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English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /sluː/
- (Wales, Northern England, some New England and Southern American dialects) IPA(key): /slɪu/
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /sljuː/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -uː
Etymology 1[edit]
In all senses, a mostly British spelling of slue.
Noun[edit]
slew (plural slews)
Translations[edit]
Verb[edit]
slew (third-person singular simple present slews, present participle slewing, simple past and past participle slewed)
- (transitive, nautical) To rotate or turn something about its axis.
- (transitive) To veer a vehicle.
- (transitive) To insert extra ticks or skip some ticks of a clock to slowly correct its time.
- (intransitive) To pivot.
- (intransitive) To skid.
- (transitive, rail transport) To move something (usually a railway line) sideways.
- The single line was slewed onto the disused up formation to make way for the future redoubling.
- (transitive, Britain, slang) To make a public mockery of someone through insult or wit.
Translations[edit]
To insert extra ticks or skip some ticks of a clock to slowly correct its time
to pivot
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to move something (usually a railway line) sideways
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to make a public mockery of someone through insult or wit
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Etymology 2[edit]
Compare slough.
Noun[edit]
slew (plural slews)
- A wet place; a river inlet.
- 1885, Theodore Roosevelt, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
- The prairie round about is wet, at times almost marshy, especially at the borders of the great reedy slews.
- 1885, Theodore Roosevelt, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman
Etymology 3[edit]
Ablaut of slay, from Middle English slew, sleugh, past of Middle English sleen. Replaced earlier Middle English slough, slogh, from Old English slōg (past of Old English slēan (“to hit, strike, slay”)), due to the influence of knew, drew, etc. More at slay.
Verb[edit]
slew
- simple past tense of slay
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- slay, v.1, in Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
Etymology 4[edit]
Borrowed from Irish slua (“crowd”), from Old Irish slúag, slóg, from Proto-Celtic *slougos (“troop, army”), from Proto-Indo-European *slowgʰos, *slowgos (“entourage”).
Noun[edit]
slew (plural slews)
- (US) A large amount.
- She has a slew of papers and notebooks strewn all over her desk.
- 2021 February 24, Philip Haigh, “A shift from cars: Scotland's railways are friends of electric!”, in RAIL, number 915, page 30:
- There has been a slew of documents about Scottish transport planning in recent weeks.
Translations[edit]
a large amount
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- “slew”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
Anagrams[edit]
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