¹slave

noun \ˈslāv\

: someone who is legally owned by another person and is forced to work for that person without pay

: a person who is strongly influenced and controlled by something

Full Definition of SLAVE

: a person held in servitude as the chattel of another

: one that is completely subservient to a dominating influence

: a device (as the printer of a computer) that is directly responsive to another

: drudge, toiler

— slave adjective

See slave defined for English-language learners

See slave defined for kids

Origin of SLAVE

Middle English sclave, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin; Anglo-French esclave, from Medieval Latin sclavus, from Sclavus Slavic; from the frequent enslavement of Slavs in central Europe during the early Middle Ages

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to SLAVE

Synonyms: bondman (also bondsman), chattel, thrall

Antonyms: freeman

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

Rhymes with SLAVE

brave, cave, clave, crave, fave, glaive, grave, knave, lave, nave, pave, rave, save, shave, stave, waive, wave, Wave

²slave

verb

: to work very hard

slavedslav·ing

Full Definition of SLAVE

transitive verb

archaic : enslave

: to make directly responsive to another mechanism

intransitive verb

: to work like a slave : drudge

: to traffic in slaves

See slave defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of SLAVE

1602

Related to SLAVE

Synonyms: bang away, beaver (away), dig (away), drudge, endeavor, fag, grub, hump, hustle, moil, peg (away), plod, plow, plug, labor, slog, strain, strive, struggle, sweat, toil, travail, tug, work

Slave

geographical name \ˈslāv\

Definition of SLAVE

river 258 miles (415 kilometers) Canada flowing from W end of Lake Athabasca N into Great Slave Lake

SLAVE Defined for Kids

¹slave

noun \ˈslāv\

Definition of SLAVE for Kids

: a person who is owned by another person and can be sold at the owner's will

: a person who is strongly influenced and controlled by something <a slave to fashion>

: drudge

²slave

verb

slavedslav·ing

Definition of SLAVE for Kids

: to work very hard, for long hours, or under difficult conditions <… I could only see myself slaving … in the tobacco fields. — Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped>