I. ˈslash, -aa(ə)-, -ai- verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English slaschen, probably from Middle French eslachier to break
transitive verb
1. : to cut with sweeping strokes that are typically rapid and forceful or savage with or as if with a blade producing long cuts or slits and usually without careful aim
when our tools are blasted and our canvases slashed — E.M.Forster
the dog managed to slash both his opponents severely — C.G.D.Roberts
2. : to hit with a stroke like that used in slashing: as
a. : lash , whip
slash him with bridle reins and dog whips — Sir Walter Scott
b. : to strike swiftly and forcibly : drive
slashed the ball across the court
3. : to wield with movements like those used in slashing
slashing his bright sword somewhat aimlessly about — Evangeline Davis
especially : crack
slashing his whip so near the horse that the creature was frightened — Harriet B. Stowe
4.
a. : to reduce to slash
the growth has been slashed by … scrub-cutting gangs — K.B.Cumberland
b. : to clear (land) by slashing down trees and bushes
slashed fifty acres
5.
a. : to advance (a thing) by or as if by slashing the obstacles in the way
slashed his way through the Oregon wilderness — American Guide Series: Oregon
b. : to move (a thing) swiftly and forcefully
slashed the curtain across the light — Morley Callaghan
6.
a. : to cut slits in (as a garment) so as to insert or expose an underlying contrasting color
slashed cuff with inset bands of contrast — Women's Wear Daily
b. : to mark as if by slashing in such a manner : streak
brown iris … slashed with yellow — Willa Cather
this gloom slashed by a few bands of bright light — John Cheever
great yellow flashes slash the night — Guthrie Wilson
7. : to criticize cuttingly and sweepingly : censure unsparingly
slashed the administration for its policies
8.
a. : to reduce sharply (as in amount or extent) : cut
slash the cost of fashion on every item in the store — advt
would personally like to see the tax on corporations not just cut, but slashed — Wall Street Journal
incidence of major crime in that area was slashed by almost 50 percent — George Barrett
b. : to reduce the length of : shorten
editing would have slashed this volume to half its size — Wayne Andrews
c. : to delete usually by crossing out : expunge
slashed many pages out of the typescript — F.A.Swinnerton
d. : remove by or as if by cutting : excise
slash twenty minutes out of the first act — Clemence Dane
9. : to size (yarn) with a slasher
intransitive verb
1. : to cut recklessly or savagely with or as if with a sword, knife, or razor
these lads hacked and slashed with the same tremendous spirit — Mark Twain
2. : to fall, move, or advance with a sweeping cutting motion like that used in slashing : pelt , dash , drive
a pouring night late in March, and the rain slashed against the windows — Laura Krey
the winds slash before them — Marjory S. Douglas
the rockets slash groundward — advt
3.
a. : to use unnecessary roughness in striking with one's stick at an opponent's stick in lacrosse
b. : to use unnecessary force when swinging the stick in playing the puck in ice hockey
Synonyms: see cut
•
- slash at
II. noun
( -es )
1.
a. : a long cut made by slashing : gash
b. : a stroke or blow delivered with a slashing motion
two revengeful slashes — H.G.Wells
2. : an ornamental slit especially for showing a lining, underlayer, or insertion in a contrasting color
his paned hose were of velvet lined with purple silk, which garniture appeared at the slashes — Sir Walter Scott
slashes in the glaze to show the beige pottery beneath — New Yorker
3. : a line or band of vivid or flashing color or light : streak
peeping in yellow slashes through the trees — C.E.W.Bean
slashes of sunlight — Sylvia T. Warner
4.
a. : an open tract in a forest strewn with debris (as logs, chunks of wood, bark, branches) from logging, wind, or fire
b. : the debris in such a tract
5. also slash mark : diagonal 4
6. : a long straight cut or mark that is made in a garment or pattern and that usually indicates or serves as the base for an opening or placket
7. : reduction , cut
5 to 10 percent price slash in new cars — Christian Science Monitor
substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays — Felix Belair
III. noun
( -es )
Etymology: probably alteration (influenced by slush ) (I) of plash (I)
: a low swampy area often overgrown with bushes : marsh