slam

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slam^¹

/ˈslæm/ UK
[ˈslæm] ~ [ˈslam] UK
/ˈslam/ British, Midlands, Southern
[ˈslam] British, Midlands, Southern
/ˈslam/ Northern England, Scotland, Wales
[ˈslam] ~ [ˈsläm] Northern England, Scotland, Wales
/ˈslæm/ Canada, US
[ˈslæm]
[ˈsleə̯m] ~ [ˈsleə̯m]
/ˈslæːm/ Australia
[ˈslæːm]
[ˈsleːm] ~ [ˈslɛːm]
/ˈslɛm/ New Zealand
[ˈslɛm] New Zealand

Rhymes with -æm

Where it comes from

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”).

verb slams · slamming · slammed

ergative, transitive To shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise. Don't slam the door!
ergative, transitive 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!
ambitransitive To strike forcefully with some implement. 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.
intransitive To strike against suddenly and heavily. The boat slammed into the bank and we were almost thrown into the river.
slang, transitive To strike and take the life of or at least incapacitate for some time. They want me nicked, they want me slammed Fuckin' snitch had me on remand
slang, transitive To defeat or overcome in a match. The Armenian football team has slammed the Turks 6–0.
colloquial, transitive To speak badly of; to criticize forcefully. Don't ever slam me in front of the boss like that again!
Similar: admonish, animadvert, bash, bawl out, tilt, clobber, cannonade, slash, lash, blame, scorch, blast · Opposite: back, support
To compete in a poetry slam.
intransitive To slam-dance.
To dunk forcefully, to slam dunk.
transitive To move a customer from one service provider to another without their consent.
transitive To drink off, to drink quickly. 17 slam some go juice Big project this afternoon? In stressful situations, glucose-rich drinks improve mood and mental performance, say Dutch researchers.
Similar: drink, hydrate, imbibe, wet one's whistle, wet one's beak
ambitransitive, slang To inject intravenously; shoot up. 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.
Similar: bang
slang, transitive, vulgar To perform coitus upon forcefully; to rail. 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
US, informal To occupy and busy with a high workload. For quotations using this term, see Citations:slam. And Citations:slammed.
intransitive Of a chaffinch: to produce a certain forceful trilling sound. Slamming was formerly disregarded, not being considered a good property, as birds singing their natural note (those caught after moulting in the fields) were distinctly designated rough slamming birds.

noun slams

countable A sudden impact or blow. How many slams in an old screen door? / Depends how loud you shut it.
countable The shock and noise produced by violently closing a door or other object. The slam and the scowl were lost upon Sam.
countable A slam dunk.
countable One of the competitions of the yearly Grand Slam events.
US, colloquial, countable An insult. I don't mean this as a slam, but you can be really impatient sometimes.
UK, dialectal, uncountable The yellow iron silicate produced in alum works as a waste product.
countable, uncountable A poetry slam.
countable, uncountable A slambook. Regular friendship books had a variety of variations, such as slams, crams, and decos.
uncountable A subgenre of death metal with elements of hardcore punk focusing on midtempo rhythms, breakdowns and palm-muted riffs.

slam^²

/ˈslæm/ UK
[ˈslæm] ~ [ˈslam] UK
/ˈslam/ British, Midlands, Southern
[ˈslam] British, Midlands, Southern
/ˈslam/ Northern England, Scotland, Wales
[ˈslam] ~ [ˈsläm] Northern England, Scotland, Wales
/ˈslæm/ Canada, US
[ˈslæm]
[ˈsleə̯m] ~ [ˈsleə̯m]
/ˈslæːm/ Australia
[ˈslæːm]
[ˈsleːm] ~ [ˈslɛːm]
/ˈslɛm/ New Zealand
[ˈslɛm] New Zealand

Rhymes with -æm

Where it comes from

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

noun slams

obsolete, uncountable A type of card game, also called ruff and honours.
countable, uncountable 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.
Similar: spit
countable Losing or winning all the tricks in a game.
countable A bid of six (small slam) or seven (grand slam) in a suit or no trump.
countable Winning all (or all but one) of the available, major or specified events in a given year or sports season. 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.

verb slams · slamming · slammed

transitive To defeat (opponents at cards) by winning all the tricks of a deal or a hand. D having seven Spades in his Hand wins them, and consequently slams A and B
intransitive To make a slam bid.

slam^³

/ˈslæm/ UK
[ˈslæm] ~ [ˈslam] UK
/ˈslam/ British, Midlands, Southern
[ˈslam] British, Midlands, Southern
/ˈslam/ Northern England, Scotland, Wales
[ˈslam] ~ [ˈsläm] Northern England, Scotland, Wales
/ˈslæm/ Canada, US
[ˈslæm]
[ˈsleə̯m] ~ [ˈsleə̯m]
/ˈslæːm/ Australia
[ˈslæːm]
[ˈsleːm] ~ [ˈslɛːm]
/ˈslɛm/ New Zealand
[ˈslɛm] New Zealand

Rhymes with -æm

Where it comes from

Compare Dutch slomp, German Schlampe.

noun slams

obsolete A shambling fellow.

SLAM^⁴

noun SLAMs

abbreviation, initialism, uncountable Initialism of simultaneous localization and mapping
abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of supersonic low altitude missile
abbreviation, acronym, countable, uncountable Acronym of stand-off land attack missile

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: bang, thrash, sweep, shot, shaft, jibe, barb, dig, slam dance, mosh, gibe, flap down, batter, hit, hitting, banging

Translations

Every language

verb to shut with sudden force and noise

Español	azotar, dar un portazo, tirar, cerrar de golpe, cerrar de un golpe
日本語	ばたんと閉める batanto shimeru
中文	甩 shuǎi, 甩上 shuǎishàng
Français	claquer
Deutsch	zuschlagen, zuknallen
Română	trânti
Русский	хло́пать xlópatʹ, хло́пнуть xlópnutʹ

verb to put with force and loud noise

Español	azotar, dejar caer

verb to strike forcefully with some implement

Español	azotar

verb to speak badly of

Español	calumniar, derramar ponzoña
Français	descendre, critiquer, dire du mal, incendier
Deutsch	ausschimpfen
Русский	разноси́ть raznosítʹ

verb to compete in a poetry slam

Français	slammer

verb basketball: to dunk forcefully

Français	smasher

verb to drink off, quickly

Français	boire cul sec, faire cul sec

noun sudden impact or blow

Français	clac, claquement
Русский	хлопание xlopanije

noun shock and noise produced by slamming

Français	clac

noun insult

Русский	оскорбление oskorblenije

noun bid of six (small slam) or seven (grand slam) in a suit or no trump

Français	chelem

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"slam." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/slam. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

slam. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/slam

Chicago

"slam." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/slam.

BibTeX

@misc{slam_2026,
  title = {slam},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/slam},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}

slam

AI In plain words

slam¹

Where it comes from

verb slams · slamming · slammed

noun slams

slam²

Where it comes from

noun slams

verb slams · slamming · slammed

slam³

Where it comes from

noun slams

SLAM⁴

noun SLAMs

Thesaurus

Translations

verb to shut with sudden force and noise

verb to put with force and loud noise

verb to strike forcefully with some implement

verb to speak badly of

verb to compete in a poetry slam

verb basketball: to dunk forcefully

verb to drink off, quickly

noun sudden impact or blow

noun shock and noise produced by slamming

noun insult

noun bid of six (small slam) or seven (grand slam) in a suit or no trump

slam^¹

slam^²

slam^³

SLAM^⁴