Library / English Dictionary

SLEW

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent

Example:

a wad of money

Synonyms:

batch; deal; flock; good deal; great deal; hatful; heap; lot; mass; mess; mickle; mint; mountain; muckle; passel; peck; pile; plenty; pot; quite a little; raft; sight; slew; spate; stack; tidy sum; wad

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("slew" is a kind of...):

large indefinite amount; large indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "slew"):

deluge; flood; inundation; torrent (an overwhelming number or amount)

haymow (a mass of hay piled up in a barn for preservation)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner

Example:

the wheels skidded against the sidewalk

Synonyms:

skid; slew; slide; slip; slue

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "slew" is one way to...):

glide (move smoothly and effortlessly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "slew"):

submarine (move forward or under in a sliding motion)

skid (slide without control)

side-slip (slide sideways through the air in a downward direction in an airplane along an inclined lateral axis)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Turn sharply; change direction abruptly

Example:

The motorbike veered to the right

Synonyms:

curve; cut; sheer; slew; slue; swerve; trend; veer

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "slew" is one way to...):

turn (change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "slew"):

peel off (leave a formation)

yaw (swerve off course momentarily)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Credits

 Context examples: 

For when ye had left us, this evil man gathered around him all outlaws, villeins, and masterless men, until they were come to such a force that they slew and scattered the king's men who went against them.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)