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slam

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

slam
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈslæm

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitiveergative

    To shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.

  2. transitiveergative

    To put in or on a particular place with force and loud noise. (Often followed by a preposition such as down, against or into.)

  3. ambitransitive

    To strike forcefully with some implement.

  4. ambitransitive

    Strike violently

  5. intransitive

    To strike against suddenly and heavily.

  6. transitive

    To drink off, to drink quickly.

noun

  1. countable

    A sudden impact or blow.

  2. countable

    The shock and noise produced by violently closing a door or other object.

  3. A card game, played all at once without separate turns, in which players attempt to get rid of their cards as quickly as possible according to certain rules.

  4. Winning all or all but one of the tricks in bridge

  5. countablecolloquialus

    An insult.

  6. A poetry slam.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (transitive, ergative) To shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.

Used this way, slam is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Sudden and forceful
Usage feel
Blunt and forceful

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Compete

poetry slam

Close

door slam

Other combinations

slam behindslam home

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • slammernounInflected form

    A person who closes things violently.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • slam dancenounCompound term

    A form of dancing in which dancers slam into one another.

  • slam dancingnounCompound term

    A form of dancing in which dancers slam into one another.

  • slam-dunkverbCompound term

    Make a forceful move against.

  • slam onverbCompound term

    Apply carelessly.

  • slam-bangadverbCompound term

    In a careless or reckless manner.

  • grand slamnounCompound term

    Winning all of the tricks in a hand of bridge.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise

sweep

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.