■ noun a squalid and overcrowded urban area inhabited by very poor people.
↘a house in such an area.
■ verb ( ~s , ~ming , ~med ) (often ~ it ) informal voluntarily spend time in uncomfortable conditions or at a lower social level than one's own.
Derivatives
~mer noun
~miness noun
~my adjective
Origin
C19 (orig. sl., in the sense 'room'): of unknown origin.