slash 1
/slash/ , v.t.
1. to cut with a violent sweeping stroke or by striking violently and at random, as with a knife or sword.
2. to lash; whip.
3. to cut, reduce, or alter: The editors slashed the story to half its length.
4. to make slits in (a garment) to show an underlying fabric.
5. to criticize, censure, or attack in a savage or cutting manner.
v.i.
6. to lay about one with sharp, sweeping strokes; make one's way by cutting.
7. to make a sweeping, cutting stroke.
n.
8. a sweeping stroke, as with a knife, sword, or pen.
9. a cut, wound, or mark made with such a stroke.
10. a curtailment, reduction, or alteration: a drastic slash of prices.
11. a decorative slit in a garment showing an underlying fabric.
12. virgule.
13. (in forest land)
a. an open area strewn with debris of trees from felling or from wind or fire.
b. the debris itself.
[ 1350-1400; ME slaschen ]
Syn. 3. abridge, abbreviate.
slash 2
/slash/ , n.
Often, slashes . a tract of wet or swampy ground overgrown with bushes or trees.
[ 1645-55, Amer.; orig. uncert. ]