slammed; slamming
1
: to shut forcibly and noisily : bang
2
a
: to set or slap down violently or noisily
slammed down the phone
b
: to propel, thrust, or produce by or as if by striking hard
slam on the brakes
slammed the car into a wall
3
: to strike or beat hard : knock
4
: to criticize harshly
1
: to make a banging noise
2
: to function (as in moving) with emphatic and usually noisy vigor
the hurricane slammed into the coast
slammed out of the room
3
: to utter verbal abuse or harsh criticism
1
a
: a noisy violent closing
b
: a banging noise
especially
: one made by the slam of a door
2
: a heavy blow or impact
3
: a poetry competition performed before judges
4
: a cutting or violent criticism
5
: slammer
1
2
Synonyms
Verb
Noun (1)
- bang
- bash
- bat
- beat
- belt
- biff
- blow
- bop
- box
- buffet
- bust
- chop
- clap
- clip
- clout
- crack
- cuff
- dab
- douse [British]
- fillip
- hack
- haymaker
- hit
- hook
- knock
- larrup [dialect]
- lash
- lick
- pelt
- pick
- plump
- poke
- pound
- punch
- rap
- slap
- slug
- smack
- smash
- sock
- spank
- stinger
- stripe
- stroke
- swat
- swipe
- switch
- thud
- thump
- thwack
- wallop
- welt
- whack
- wham
- whop
- whap
Examples of slam in a Sentence
Verb
He slammed the door in my face.
She slammed the drawer shut.
He stepped inside and let the door slam behind him.
In her anger, she slammed the ball against the fence.
The car slid on the ice and slammed into a tree.
Her arm slammed against the table.
Noun (1)
gave the stubborn nail one last slam with the hammer
shut the door with a loud slam
sported a gang tattoo on his arm that had gotten him plenty of respect in the slam
the sudden slam of my head against the trunk of the car
Recent Examples on the Web
Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
At the same time, Chinese officials slammed Western limits on AI access, and China’s DeepSeek chatbot has already triggered security concerns in the U.S.
—Thomas Adamson and Aamer Madhani, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2025
Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
The 90 year old on the call for a slam by the 20 year old.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 19 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for slam 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Winter weather wreaks havoc across country A parade of winter storms may cause chaos across the Midwest and East this week, with two major storms expected to slam the regions with paralyzing snow and ice, including a big blast to the nation's capital.
—Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
At the same time, Chinese officials slammed Western limits on AI access, and China’s DeepSeek chatbot has already triggered security concerns in the U.S.
—Thomas Adamson and Aamer Madhani, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2025
Noun
Legado del Fantasma won with a double military press slam.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
The 90 year old on the call for a slam by the 20 year old.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 19 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for slam
Dictionary Entries Near slam
Cite this Entry
“Slam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slam. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.
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