slave 1 of 2

1
as in servant
a person who is considered the property of another person many American slaves reached freedom in the North through the network known as the Underground Railroad

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2
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work unappreciated office slaves who perform the necessary but tedious task of filing paperwork

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slave

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of slave
Noun
One of Garfield's early administrative appointments was the abolitionist, orator, and freed slave Frederick Douglass, who was tapped as the recorder of deeds in Washington. Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 30 Jan. 2025 That is the dilemma facing Black people in America who arrived on slave ships and Native Americans whose land was taken by force. Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2025
Verb
In other words, spend your energies considering the ingredients rather than slaving over the method. Judy Bart Kancigor, Orange County Register, 18 Jan. 2024 And, having lost their land, the family is being supported only by the wages of their son who is slaving at a brick factory. Patrick Frater, Variety, 12 Feb. 2024 See All Example Sentences for slave
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slave
Noun
  • Japanese folklore indicates the fish belonged to servants of the sea god Ryūjin.
    Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2025
  • Banksy removed one of the servants and added a sinking oil tanker and two figures in hazmat suits hauling a barrel of toxic waste.
    David Matthews, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The laborers who make these goods earn as little as $5 an hour, including overtime, for workdays that can last 10 hours or more.
    Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2025
  • In Nepal, a U.S.-based nonprofit named the La Isla Network put on hold its work on chronic kidney disease, a deadly condition believed to be linked to heat stress and dehydration that has emerged as a threat to manual laborers in hot countries.
    ByCatherine Offord, science.org, 5 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Ultimately, this post-neoliberal ideology and its adherents did not take tradeoffs seriously enough, laboring under an illusion that previous policymakers were too beholden to economic orthodoxy to make real progress for people.
    Jason Furman, Foreign Affairs, 10 Feb. 2025
  • Employees who labored long hours on a dairy farm were disappointed on payday when their checks showed no overtime pay and was missing compensation for regular hours worked, Minnesota police said.
    Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 5 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Then, when the victims had the money, a person posing as a bail bondsman picked it up, according to federal authorities.
    Staff report, Hartford Courant, 24 Dec. 2024
  • This gray area of when a bondsman has authority to surrender a client without court intervention was a key topic of discussion Thursday.
    Evan Mealins, The Tennessean, 16 Aug. 2024
Noun
  • There’s a lot of talk in the Florida Legislature right now about cracking down on unauthorized workers in the state.
    Thomas Kennedy, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2025
  • This particular set would be sold to a bigger supplier that would then ship the lights and other components to a plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where 4,400 American workers build GMC's Sierra truck.
    Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • And that excludes the knock on effects that might ensue The aerospace industry, and Boeing in particular, has been struggling for the past five years to shore up its fragile supply chain in the wake of the pandemic shutdown and multiple quality issues.
    Jerrold Lundquist, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Why is Skype Shutting Down? Skype, which Microsoft acquired for $8.5 billion back in 2011, has struggled to maintain relevance in the face of competition from apps like Zoom, WhatsApp, and FaceTime.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Rogers cared deeply about the children his show touched, striving to spread kindness and make the world a better place.
    Makena Gera, People.com, 27 Feb. 2025
  • If errors are made, they will be flagged and corrected as needed, while striving to do what's best for the American people.
    Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 27 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The game is the system that keeps one as chattel for the other.
    Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 26 Dec. 2024
  • This led to the development of a particular type of housing structure known as chattel houses in countries such as Barbados.
    Farah Nibbs, The Conversation, 22 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Slave.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slave. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

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