Slash

/slæʃ/ adv, conj, noun, verb, slang

adv, conj, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A slashing action or motion:; A swift, broad cutting stroke, especially one made with an edged weapon or whip.
  • Grammar: slash is listed as adv, conj, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: solidus, virgule, cut, diagonal.
  • Useful contrasts: ?, backslash, heal.
  • Usage evidence: Use a forward slash in the URL, not a backward slash.

How to use "slash"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "slash" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "slash" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "slash" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "slash" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "slash" is acting as adv, conj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "solidus" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "slash", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A slashing action or motion:; A swift, broad cutting stroke, especially one made with an edged weapon or whip.

    "A slash of his blade just missed my ear."

  2. 2
    A drink of something; a draft. obsolete, rare
  3. 3
    A swampy area; a swamp. Eastern, US

    "On the North side of one of ye Windings of a great Slash or Swamp called ye Roundabout."

  4. 4
    Alternative form of slatch: a deep trough of finely-fractured culm or a circular or elliptical pocket of coal. UK, alt-of, alternative
  5. 5
    a strong sweeping cut made with a sharp instrument wordnet
Show 20 more definitions
  1. 6
    A slashing action or motion:; A wide striking motion made with an implement such as a cricket bat, hockey stick, or lacrosse stick.

    "He took a wild slash at the ball but the captain saved the team's skin by hacking it clear and setting up the team for a strike on the goal."

  2. 7
    A piss: an act of urination. UK, slang, vulgar

    "Where's the gents? I need to take a slash."

  3. 8
    A slash pine, which grows in such (swampy) areas. Eastern, US, uncommon

    "[…] second growth long-leaf yellow slash. And also we have a short-leaf pine."

  4. 9
    a punctuation mark (‘/’) used to separate related items of information wordnet
  5. 10
    A slashing action or motion:; A sharp reduction in resources allotted. figuratively

    "After the war ended, the army saw a 50% slash in their operating budget."

  6. 11
    Piss; urine. UK, rare, slang, vulgar

    "That bus shelter smells of slash."

  7. 12
    A large quantity of watery food such as broth. Scotland
  8. 13
    an open tract of land in a forest that is strewn with debris from logging (or fire or wind) wordnet
  9. 14
    A mark made by slashing:; A deep cut or laceration, as made by an edged weapon or whip.

    "He was bleeding from a slash across his cheek."

  10. 15
    a wound made by cutting wordnet
  11. 16
    A mark made by slashing:; A deep taper-pointed incision in a plant.
  12. 17
    Something resembling such a mark:; A slit in an outer garment, usually exposing a lining or inner garment of a contrasting color or design.
  13. 18
    Something resembling such a mark:; A clearing in a forest, particularly one made by logging, fire, or other violent action. Canada, US

    "We passed over the shoulder of a ridge and around the edge of a fire slash, and then we had the mountain fairly before us."

  14. 19
    Something resembling such a mark:; The slash mark: the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩.

    "Initial inquiries among professional typists uncover names like slant, slant line, slash, and slash mark. Examination of typing instruction manuals discloses additional names such as diagonal and diagonal mark, and other sources provide the designation oblique."

  15. 20
    Something resembling such a mark:; The slash mark: the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩.; Any similar typographical mark, such as the backslash ⟨\⟩. often, proscribed
  16. 21
    Something resembling such a mark:; The slash mark: the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩.; The conjunctions and or also (during a conversation). broadly, idiomatic
  17. 22
    Something resembling such a mark:; The vulva. slang, vulgar
  18. 23
    The loose woody debris remaining from a slash; the trimmings left while preparing felled trees for removal. Canada, US

    "Slash generated during logging may constitute a fire hazard."

  19. 24
    A wet or swampy place overgrown with bushes obsolete
  20. 25
    Slash fiction; fan fiction focused on homoerotic pairing of fictional characters. slang

    "Comments merely allow readers to proclaim themselves mortally offended by the content of a story, despite having been warned in large block letters of INCEST or SLASH (any kind of sex between two men or two women: the term originated with the Kirk/Spock pairing – it described the literal slash between their names)."

Verb
  1. 1
    To cut or attempt to cut; To cut with a swift broad stroke of an edged weapon.

    "They slashed at him with their swords, but only managed to nick one of his fingers."

  2. 2
    To piss, to urinate. UK, intransitive, slang

    "If you can slash in my bed (I thought) don't tell me you can't suck my cock."

  3. 3
    To work in wet conditions. Scotland, intransitive
  4. 4
    cut drastically wordnet
  5. 5
    To cut or attempt to cut; To produce a similar wound with a savage strike of a whip.
Show 14 more definitions
  1. 6
    cut open wordnet
  2. 7
    To cut or attempt to cut; To strike swiftly and laterally with a hockey stick, usually across another player's arms or legs.
  3. 8
    cut with sweeping strokes; as with an ax or machete wordnet
  4. 9
    To cut or attempt to cut; To reduce sharply. figuratively

    "Competition forced them to slash prices."

  5. 10
    beat severely with a whip or rod wordnet
  6. 11
    To cut or attempt to cut; To create slashes in a garment.
  7. 12
    move or stir about violently wordnet
  8. 13
    To cut or attempt to cut; To criticize cuttingly. figuratively
  9. 14
    To strike violently and randomly, particularly
  10. 15
    To strike violently and randomly; To swing wildly at the ball.
  11. 16
    To move quickly and violently.
  12. 17
    To crack a whip with a slashing motion.
  13. 18
    To clear land, (particularly forestry) with violent action such as logging or brushfires or (agriculture, uncommon) through grazing. Canada, US

    "The province's traditional slash-and-burn agriculture was only sustainable with a much smaller population."

  14. 19
    To write slash fiction. intransitive, slang

    "Having read slash for other fandoms (mainly X-Files and Sentinel), I can say the whole gay issue gets dealt with more often in that slash than it does in Trek slash. That's not to say that all the slashers who slash in a "modern-era" show deal with AIDS, homophobia and other gay issues, but some of them do."

Adverb
  1. 1
    Used to note the sound or action of a slash. not-comparable
Conjunction
  1. 1
    Used to connect two or more identities in a list. Canada, US

    "Saul Hudson is a famous musician/songwriter."

  2. 2
    Used to list alternatives. Canada, US

    "Alternatives can be marked by the slash/stroke/solidus punctuation mark, a tall, right-slanting oblique line. Read: Alternatives can be marked by the slash-slash-stroke-slash-solidus punctuation mark, a tall, right-slanting oblique line."

Synonyms

All synonyms
solidusvirgulecutdiagonalgashlash

Example

"Use a forward slash in the URL, not a backward slash."

Common questions

What does "slash" mean?

A slashing action or motion:; A swift, broad cutting stroke, especially one made with an edged weapon or whip.

What is a synonym for "slash"?

Common synonyms include: solidus, virgule, cut, diagonal, gash, lash.

How do you use "slash" in a sentence?

Use a forward slash in the URL, not a backward slash.

How do you pronounce "slash"?

Pronounced /slæʃ/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to slit, tear”). Used in the Wycliffe Bible as slascht (see 1 Kings 5:18) but otherwise unattested until 16th century. Conjunctive use from various applications of the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩. See also slash fiction.

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Compare Scots slash (“large splash”), possibly from Old French esclache. Slang use for urination attested from the 1950s.

Etymology 3

Uncertain. Compare British dialectal slashy (“wet and dirty, miry”) and Scots slash (“act of walking forcefully through water or mud”) and slatch (“wet and muddy place, mire”). Perhaps related to Swedish slask (“slush”). Compare also slash (“clearing in a forest”): in many cases it is difficult to tell whether that sense or this one is meant. (Also compare flash (“a marsh; a pool of water”).)

Etymology 4

See slatch

More for "slash"

Synonyms

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