slew

English

Pronunciation

• 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

In all senses, a mostly British spelling of slue.

Noun

slew (plural slews)

1. The act, or process of slewing.
2. A device used for slewing.
3. A change of position.

Translations

change of position

• Dutch: ommekeer (nl)

Verb

slew (third-person singular simple present slews, present participle slewing, simple past and past participle slewed)

1. (transitive, nautical) To rotate or turn something about its axis.
2. (transitive) To veer a vehicle.
3. (transitive) To insert extra ticks or skip some ticks of a clock to slowly correct its time.
4. (intransitive) To pivot.
5. (intransitive) To skid.
6. (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.

7. (transitive, Britain, slang) To make a public mockery of someone through insult or wit.

Translations

to rotate or turn something about its axis

• Dutch: omkeren (nl), draaien (nl)

• Slovak: stočiť

to veer a vehicle

• Dutch: zwenken (nl)

To insert extra ticks or skip some ticks of a clock to slowly correct its time

• Dutch: instellen (nl), regelen (nl)

to pivot

• Dutch: omwentelen (nl), draaien (nl)

to skid

• Dutch: schuiven (nl), slippen (nl)

to move something (usually a railway line) sideways

• Dutch: verschuiven (nl)

to make a public mockery of someone through insult or wit

• Dutch: iemand te kakken zetten

Etymology 2

Compare slough.

Noun

slew (plural slews)

1. 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.

Etymology 3

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

slew

1. simple past tense of slay

See also

• slain

References

• slay, v.¹, in Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Irish slua (“crowd”), from Old Irish slúag, slóg, from Proto-Celtic *slougos (“troop, army”), from Proto-Indo-European *slowgʰos, *slowgos (“entourage”).

Noun

slew (plural slews)

1. (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

a large amount

• Catalan: munt (ca) m, tou (ca) m
• Dutch: een groot aantal
• German: Menge (de) f, Reihe (de) f, ganze Reihe f
• Portuguese: amontoado (pt) m, montão (pt)

• Russian: ма́сса (ru) f (mássa)
• Spanish: montón (es) m
• Swedish: massa (sv) c, mängd (sv) c
• Vietnamese: đống (vi)

See also

• onslaught

References

• “slew”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Anagrams

• ESWL, lews, wels