Dictionary

slang en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈslæŋ/ without æ-raising
• [ˈslɛ̃ŋ] (Canada, US)
• /ˈsleɪ̯ŋ/ (Canada, US)
• [ˈslæŋ] without æ-raising
• (US) audio
• [ˈsleɪ̯ŋ] ~ /ˈslɛ̃ŋ/ (Canada, US)

Etymology

First use appears c. 1756, meaning "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves", origin unknown. Not believed to be connected with language or lingo. Possibly derived from a North Germanic source, then possibly related to Nordic language: Danish slænge, Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk slengja, Norwegian slenge, Swedish slänga (“to (carelessly) sling, throw, hurl; throw away, to dispose of; to flail”), with derivational nouns such as slæng, sleng, släng etc. Compare the compound: Danish slængenavn, Norwegian slengenavn, Norwegian Nynorsk slengenamn, Swedish slängnamn (“nickname, byname, informal name”, literally “sling-name”), and the phrases: Norwegian Nynorsk slengja kjeften, Swedish slänga käften (“to abuse verbally”, literally “to sling one's jowl”), Swedish slänga ur sig (“to say something hastily, carelessly, thoughtlessly”, literally “to throw out of oneself”), also Swedish (regional) slänga (“careless, nonchalant girl”, literally “sling + feminine suffix -a”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Language outside of conventional usage and in the informal register.
   • After years when I met a friend inside the aircraft and could sense stiffness in the conversation, a whiff of mild slang was the ice breaker, followed by loads of campus nostalgia. 2021 September 3, Charudutta Panigrahi, “The Intimacy Of Slangs”, in Odisha News, archived from the original on 19 Mar 2025:
   • She was amused by his talk, which was simple, straightforward, rather humorous and keen, and interspersed with homely expressions of a style which is sometimes called slang. 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 26, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
   • English-speaking Australians have always had a love affair with slang. 1996, James Lambert, The Macquarie Book of Slang, Sydney: Macquarie Library, page v:
2. (countable, uncountable) Language that is unique to a particular profession or subject; jargon.
3. (countable, uncountable) The specialized language of a social group, sometimes used to conceal one's meaning from outsiders; cant.
   • "Oh, there are so many superior teas and sugars now. Superior is getting to be shopkeepers' slang. / "Are you beginning to dislike slang, then?" said Rosamond, with mild gravity. / "Only the wrong sort. All choice of words is slang. It marks a class." / "There is correct English: that is not slang." / "I beg your pardon: correct English is the slang of prigs who write history and essays. And the strongest slang of all is the slang of poets." 1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XI, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I, page 172:
4. (countable) A particular variety of slang; the slang used by a particular group.
   • [F]or a detailed analysis see Liberman (2008 157ff) who sees it as one of a number of terms found in pan-European slangs meaning concealment and/or cheating. 2023, Jonathon Green, Green’s Dictionary of Slang:
5. (countable) An item of slang; a slang word or expression.
   • More importantly and closer to life, slangs help build an instant intimacy and informality. 2021 September 3, Charudutta Panigrahi, “The Intimacy Of Slangs”, in Odisha News, archived from the original on 19 Mar 2025:
   • The internet comes up with so many slangs used by people to survive in the online world. Many of those slangs are in the form of abbreviations, for instance, the word "u" which refers to "you"[.] 2019, Hendi Pratama, Linguistic Politeness in Online Communication, Semarang: LPPS Unnes:
   • Anyway, I have learned many slangs while I am in New York, and one of them, a remarkable slang, is sheister. 1921, Horace Fish, The Great Way: A Story of the Joyful, the Sorrowful, the Glorious, New York: Mitchell Kennerley:
6. (India, countable) A curse word.
   • Such attempts were made even more aggressive by the fact that these local women were known for picking fights easily and using slangs to verbally abuse their neighbours. 2021, Sadan Jha, Dev Nath Pathak, Amiya Kumar Das, Neighbourhoods in Urban India: In Between Home and the City, page 82:

Forms

Deriveds

slangist · slangification · netslang · slangology · slangwise · centre slang · outslang · slangishness · slangish · slangless · slangitis · slangfest · slangism · slangy · slanging match · slangonym · slangify · slangster · backslang · slang-like · cyberslang · slangishly · slangland · slanger · rhyming slang · slangery · slangfully · slangologist · slanguist · slangdom · slangwhanger · slanginess · slangness · anti-slang · slangular · slangous · medial slang · antislang · slangly · slangful · slanguage · slangese · slangville

Descendants

slang · slang · szleng · slang · סְלֶנְג · slango · slangi · slank · slanga · Slang · сленг · släng

Synonyms

lingo · cant · jargon · vernacular

Translations (68)

mi kīpaki (unconventional language) · tr jargon (unconventional language) · ja 俗語 (unconventional language) · tl salitang kanto (unconventional language) · ca argot (unconventional language) · da slang (unconventional language) · af sleng (unconventional language) · id slang (unconventional language) · hu zsargon (unconventional language) · hu argó (unconventional language) · cs hantýrka (unconventional language) · pl gwara (unconventional language) · tl salitang balbal (unconventional language) · pl żargon (unconventional language) · el αργκό (unconventional language) · tl salitang kalye (unconventional language) · is slangur (unconventional language) · fr jargon (unconventional language) · eo slango (unconventional language) · de Umgangssprache (unconventional language) · ru арго́ (unconventional language) · gl xerga (unconventional language) · tr oğruca (unconventional language) · gd truaill-chainnt (unconventional language) · he עגה (unconventional language) · es replana (unconventional language) · cmn 行語 /行语 (unconventional language) · es argot (unconventional language) · nl slang (unconventional language) · fi slangi (unconventional language) · he להג (unconventional language) · fr langue verte (unconventional language) · es jerga (unconventional language) · es germanía (unconventional language) · et släng (unconventional language) · cmn 俚語 /俚语 (unconventional language) · sv slang (unconventional language) · hy ժարգոն (unconventional language) · ru разгово́рная речь (unconventional language) · ro jargon (unconventional language) · ko 은어 (unconventional language) · ru фе́ня (unconventional language) · pt gíria (unconventional language) · hu szleng (unconventional language) · tr argo (unconventional language) · lv slengs (unconventional language) · vi tiếng lóng (unconventional language) · ro argou (unconventional language) · ar دَارِجَة (unconventional language) · cs slang (unconventional language) · he סלנג (unconventional language) · pt calão (unconventional language) · pl slang (unconventional language) · ro slang (unconventional language) · mi (kupu) mātāhae (unconventional language) · io slangajo (unconventional language) · de Slang (unconventional language) · pt jargão (unconventional language) · ru сленг (unconventional language) · ko 속어 (unconventional language) · vi biệt ngữ (unconventional language) · fr argot (unconventional language) · ru жарго́н (unconventional language) · bg сленг (unconventional language) · ms slanga (unconventional language) · ar عَامِّيَّة (unconventional language) · vo lupöpapük (unconventional language) · ja 俚言 (unconventional language)

slang en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈslæŋ/ without æ-raising
• [ˈslɛ̃ŋ] (Canada, US)
• /ˈsleɪ̯ŋ/ (Canada, US)
• [ˈslæŋ] without æ-raising
• (US) audio
• [ˈsleɪ̯ŋ] ~ /ˈslɛ̃ŋ/ (Canada, US)

Etymology

First use appears c. 1756, meaning "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves", origin unknown. Not believed to be connected with language or lingo. Possibly derived from a North Germanic source, then possibly related to Nordic language: Danish slænge, Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk slengja, Norwegian slenge, Swedish slänga (“to (carelessly) sling, throw, hurl; throw away, to dispose of; to flail”), with derivational nouns such as slæng, sleng, släng etc. Compare the compound: Danish slængenavn, Norwegian slengenavn, Norwegian Nynorsk slengenamn, Swedish slängnamn (“nickname, byname, informal name”, literally “sling-name”), and the phrases: Norwegian Nynorsk slengja kjeften, Swedish slänga käften (“to abuse verbally”, literally “to sling one's jowl”), Swedish slänga ur sig (“to say something hastily, carelessly, thoughtlessly”, literally “to throw out of oneself”), also Swedish (regional) slänga (“careless, nonchalant girl”, literally “sling + feminine suffix -a”).

Meanings

1. (dated, transitive) To vocally abuse, or shout at.
   • Also, he had to keep his temper when he was slanged in the theatre porch by a policeman. 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “Miss Youghal's Sais”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio Society, published 2007, page 26:
   • Stephen feared that he would yell louder, and was hostile. But they made friends and treated each other, and slanged the proprietor and ragged the pretty girls … 1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part I, XII [Uniform ed., p. 130]
   • "If they had been a row of his favorite Pressmen he could not have slanged them worse." 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

Forms

slang en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈslæŋ/ without æ-raising
• [ˈslɛ̃ŋ] (Canada, US)
• /ˈsleɪ̯ŋ/ (Canada, US)
• [ˈslæŋ] without æ-raising
• (US) audio
• [ˈsleɪ̯ŋ] ~ /ˈslɛ̃ŋ/ (Canada, US)

Meanings

1. (archaic, form-of, past) simple past of sling
   form of sling
   • Before he slang the all-deciding stone[…] 1836, Edward Bagnall, Saul and David:

slang en · NOUN · etymology 3

Pronunciation

• /ˈslæŋ/ without æ-raising
• [ˈslɛ̃ŋ] (Canada, US)
• /ˈsleɪ̯ŋ/ (Canada, US)
• [ˈslæŋ] without æ-raising
• (US) audio
• [ˈsleɪ̯ŋ] ~ /ˈslɛ̃ŋ/ (Canada, US)

Meanings

1. (UK, dialectal) Any long, narrow piece of land; a promontory.
   • There runneth forth into the sea a certaine shelfe or slang, like unto an out~thrust tongue. 1610, William Camden, translated by Philémon Holland, Britain, or A Chorographicall Description of the Most Flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press for] Georgii Bishop & Ioannis Norton, →OCLC:

Forms

slang en · NOUN · etymology 4

Pronunciation

• /ˈslæŋ/ without æ-raising
• [ˈslɛ̃ŋ] (Canada, US)
• /ˈsleɪ̯ŋ/ (Canada, US)
• [ˈslæŋ] without æ-raising
• (US) audio
• [ˈsleɪ̯ŋ] ~ /ˈslɛ̃ŋ/ (Canada, US)

Etymology

Compare sling.

Meanings

1. (UK, obsolete) A fetter worn on the leg by a convict.
2. (UK, obsolete) A counterfeit weight or measure.
3. (UK, obsolete) A travelling show, or one of its performances.
4. (UK, obsolete) A hawker's license.
5. (UK, obsolete) A watchchain.

Forms

slang en · VERB · etymology 5

Pronunciation

• /ˈslæŋ/ without æ-raising
• [ˈslɛ̃ŋ] (Canada, US)
• /ˈsleɪ̯ŋ/ (Canada, US)
• [ˈslæŋ] without æ-raising
• (US) audio
• [ˈsleɪ̯ŋ] ~ /ˈslɛ̃ŋ/ (Canada, US)

Etymology

The same as sling which is also used in this sense. The vowel exhibits the lowering of /ɪ/ before /ŋ/ distinguishing for African American Vernacular English, as in thang for thing, but the word has spread with this pronunciation outside the accents that exhibit this feature.

Meanings

1. (Multicultural-London-English, qualifier:African-American Vernacular, transitive) To sell (something, especially illegal drugs).
   • Bro is in the kitchen, know he can’t cook He is whipping shit that we use to slang This fat prick wanna chat on YouTube still had to cheat to deny he’s gang 2019 October 18, “Feed' Em”performed by #SG Jibbzy, 1:17–1:23:
   • Bro I’m booky, I’ll take your food if my belly starts rumbling They rap about bootings, they ain’t blammed nobody Hold that properly when I bang that dotty I put sniff in a rex, and I slang that bobby 2017, “Next Up?”, Digga D (lyrics), performed by 1011 (Digga D x Sav'O x T.Y):
   • Everyday I wake up gotta get back to the gwop Just another fuckin day in that gangway slangin rocks 2014, “Bail Out”, Cdai (lyrics), performed by RondoNumbaNine ft. Cdai:
   • Whip, whip in the trap do up kitchen that's food (that's food) Cookin up grub Fuck, these niggas cookin up soup (uhhhhh) Slang the crack or the black Put the light and dark on the move Gold and brown and cute Gyal love me and I love them too (too) 2016, “Call Me A Spartan”, TG Millian (lyrics), performed by Harlem Spartans (Blanco, Zico, Bis, TG Millian, MizorMac):

Forms

Synonyms

sling · flog