slam

present singular third person slams · participle present slamming · participle past slammed · past slammed

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

   Don't slam the door!

   1 more example

   Britain’s borders: wide open to Covid, slammed shut for people in need [title]

   2021 May 19, George Monbiot, “Britain’s borders: wide open to Covid, slammed shut for people in need”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

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

   Don't slam that trunk down on the pavement!

   1 more example

   The New South Wales police commissioner has defended the officer who was filmed slamming an Indigenous boy face-first on to a pavement in Sydney, saying the officer “had a bad day”.

   2020 June 3, Michael McGowan, “NSW police commissioner says officer who slammed Indigenous teen to ground ‘had a bad day’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

3. ambitransitiveTo strike forcefully with some implement.

   But Wolves went in front when Steven Fletcher headed in Stephen Hunt's cross and it was 2-0 when Geoffrey Mujangi Bia slammed in his first for the club.

   2011 January 18, “Wolverhampton 5 - 0 Doncaster”, in BBC

4. intransitiveTo strike against suddenly and heavily.

   The boat slammed into the bank and we were almost thrown into the river.

   2 more examples

   The 6-ton fishing boat Kuanghua 15638 was slammed by the communist vessel near the Liuchuan reefs off the coast of Chukuang and drifted toward Nanchu after the collision.

   1978 January 5 [1977 December 30], “PRC Vessel Collides with ROC Fishing Boat off Matsu”, in Daily Report: Asia & Pacific, volume IV, number 3, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, →ISSN, →OCLC, page B 2

   Seven people were killed and 66 injured after a High Speed Train slammed into a stationary vehicle that had been parked across the main line by a suicidal driver.

   2021 February 24, Paul Stephen, “Level crossings are one of our key risk areas”, in RAIL, number 925, page 46

5. slangtransitiveTo strike and take the life of or at least incapacitate for some time.

   They want me nicked, they want me slammed Fuckin' snitch had me on remand

   2020 April 15, Tremz, “Lightwork Freestyle”

6. slangtransitivehobbiesTo defeat or overcome in a match.

   The Armenian football team has slammed the Turks 6–0.

7. colloquialtransitiveTo speak badly of; to criticize forcefully.

   Union leaders slammed the new proposals.

   5 more examples

   Don't ever slam me in front of the boss like that again!

   Critics slammed the new film, calling it violent and meaningless.

   For years we have kept our mouths shut about Rita Mae, always reluctant to slam one of our own, particularly one who used to be pretty good.

   1988 December 11, Susana Darwin, “Keep Editing, Rita Mae”, in Gay Community News, volume 16, number 22, page 8

   Roger Stone slammed Ivanka Trump after not getting pardoned, video shows[.] Republican operative calls Trump an ‘abortionist bitch’ in video released by film-maker who provided footage to January 6 panel[.]

   2022 October 15, Martin Pengelly, “Roger Stone slammed Ivanka Trump after not getting pardoned, video shows”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   On Twitter, United We Dream, an immigrant youth-led rights group, slammed Biden’s new policy “a racist and classist attack” on migrants.

   2023 January 8, Edwin Rios, “Biden’s ‘carrot and stick’ approach to deter migrants met with anger”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: admonish, animadvert, bash, bawl out, tilt, clobber, cannonade, slash · Antonyms: back, support

8. To compete in a poetry slam.
9. intransitiveTo slam-dance.
10. ball gamesTo dunk forcefully, to slam dunk.
11. transitivecommunicationsTo move a customer from one service provider to another without their consent.
12. transitiveTo drink off, to drink quickly.

    17 slam some go juice Big project this afternoon? In stressful situations, glucose-rich drinks improve mood and mental performance, say Dutch researchers.

    2008 January–February, “70 Ways to Improve Every Day of the Week”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 1, →ISSN, page 134

    Synonyms: drink, hydrate, imbibe, wet one's whistle, wet one's beak

13. ambitransitiveslangdrugsTo inject intravenously; shoot up.

    I mentioned earlier how many people will draw lines in the sand that they'll never cross: some won't try Tina, others will never slam.

    2017, James Wharton, Something for the Weekend, Biteback Publishing, →ISBN

    Synonyms: bang

14. slangtransitivevulgarlifestyleTo perform coitus upon forcefully; to rail.

    Your bird's textin' me 'Tremzy is the man,' You be tryna call her but she's busy gettin' slammed The way she's gettin' doggied you would think she's tryna dance

    2015, Tremz, “Sketty Bums Get Wild”

15. USinformalTo occupy and busy with a high workload.

    For quotations using this term, see Citations:slam. And Citations:slammed.

16. intransitiveOf a chaffinch: to produce a certain forceful trilling sound.

    Slamming was formerly disregarded, not being considered a good property, as birds singing their natural note (those caught after moulting in the fields) were distinctly designated rough slamming birds.

    1860, Dwight's Journal of Music: A Paper of Art and Literature, page 316

plural slams

1. countableA sudden impact or blow.

   How many slams in an old screen door? / Depends how loud you shut it.

   1981, Shel Silverstein, “How Many, How Much”, in A Light in the Attic, Harper & Row

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

   The slam and the scowl were lost upon Sam.

   1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 35, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC

3. countableball gamesA slam dunk.
4. countablehobbiesOne of the competitions of the yearly Grand Slam events.
5. UScolloquialcountableAn insult.

   I don't mean this as a slam, but you can be really impatient sometimes.

   1 more example

   “Well,” I says, “I cal'late a body could get used to Tophet if he stayed there long enough.” ¶ She flared up; the least mite of a slam at Doctor Wool was enough to set her going.

   1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

6. UKdialectaluncountableThe yellow iron silicate produced in alum works as a waste product.
7. countableuncountableA poetry slam.
8. countableuncountableA slambook.

   Regular friendship books had a variety of variations, such as slams, crams, and decos.

   2017, Mark Duffett, Fan Identities and Practices in Context: Dedicated to Music, page 194

   1 more example

   Pen pals also make and pass around friendship books, slams and crams. In recent years, pen pal correspondence with prison inmates has gained acceptance on the Internet.

   2019, Manjit Bal, Lovingly Yours - Penpals

9. uncountableentertainmentA subgenre of death metal with elements of hardcore punk focusing on midtempo rhythms, breakdowns and palm-muted riffs.

plural slams

1. obsoleteuncountableA type of card game, also called ruff and honours.
2. countableuncountableA 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.

   Synonyms: spit

3. countablecard gamesLosing or winning all the tricks in a game.
4. countablebridgeA bid of six (small slam) or seven (grand slam) in a suit or no trump.
5. countablehobbiesWinning all (or all but one) of the available, major or specified events in a given year or sports season.

   Musso then passed Collins and, only briefly, it looked as though there might be a Ferrari grand slam.

   2014, Anthony Pritchard, Grand Prix Ferrari: The Years of Enzo Ferrari’s Power, 1948-1980, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   In the 125 Grand Prix, I. D. Fuller (4) made it a grand slam by setting the fastest time trial, winning his heat and getting the checkered flag in the final.

   1955 August, “Carolina Grand Prix Benefits Crippled Children”, in American Motorcyclist, volume 9, number 8, page 21

   I have never been a fan of tennis, I'll be honest, but even I can appreciate a great tennis player when I see one, and one of the finest of all was the American champion, Andre Agassi. Agassi was at one time number one in the world. He won eight grand slam titles (including a Wimbledon title) and a gold medal in the Olympic Games.

   2012, Mark Stibbe, I am Your Father: What every heart needs to know, →ISBN, page 178

present singular third person slams · participle present slamming · participle past slammed · past slammed

1. transitivecard gamesTo defeat (opponents at cards) by winning all the tricks of a deal or a hand.

   D having seven Spades in his Hand wins them, and consequently slams A and B

   1742, Edmond Hoyle, A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist

2. intransitivebridgeTo make a slam bid.

plural slams

1. obsoleteA shambling fellow.

plural SLAMs

1. abbreviationinitialismuncountablecomputerInitialism of simultaneous localization and mapping.
2. abbreviationacronymcountableuncountableaeronauticsAcronym of supersonic low altitude missile.
3. abbreviationacronymcountableuncountableaeronauticsAcronym of stand-off land attack missile.