slaying

1 of 2

noun

slay·​ing ˈslā-iŋ How to pronounce slaying (audio)
plural slayings
Synonyms of slayingnext
: the act of killing a person : killing, murder
—used chiefly in journalistic writing
a gangland slaying
Sunday's slayings bring to 14 the number of killings this year in what police call gang-related attacks.—Peter Stein
He is accused of ordering the 1989 slayings and robberies of three drug dealers …—Joseph P. Fried

slaying

2 of 2

present participle of slay

Synonyms of slaying

Relevance

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of slaying in a Sentence

Noun a man wanted for the slaying of seven people during an armed robbery
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
In October 2024, a Miami jury recommended that Lopez Andrade be sent to Florida’s Death Row for the slaying of Yaimi Guevara Machado, 30. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 29 Oct. 2026 Angel Apodaca, 22, was charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child, and criminal possession of a weapon in Tania Morales’s slaying, police said. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 28 Oct. 2026 That is down from 75 at this point last year, when there were 192 slayings. — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026 The teen accused of fatally stabbing a homeless Roseville woman faced a judge and the woman’s family Tuesday during his first court appearance in the slaying. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 21 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for slaying

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of slaying was in the 14th century

Rhymes for slaying

See All Rhymes for slaying

Browse Nearby Words

slayer
slaying
SLBM
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Slaying.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slaying. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Pyrrhic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All