slash
/slæʃ/noun, verb, adverb, conjunction
slash is spelled S-L-A-S-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, slash means “A swift, broad cutting stroke, especially one made with an edged weapon or whip” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of slash is slashes.
How many letters and syllables are in slash?
| Letters | 5: S-L-A-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 4.5 times per million words; the 12,045th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is slash?
Slash appears 4.5 times per million words in written English, the 12,045th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce slash?
- UK /slaʃ/
- US /slæʃ/
Slash has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-slash.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with slash?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as slash from its last stressed vowel (/æʃ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of slash
- slashes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- slashing participle, present
- slashed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does slash mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A swift, broad cutting stroke, especially one made with an edged weapon or whip.
A slash of his blade just missed my ear.
- 2
A wide striking motion made with an implement such as a cricket bat, hockey stick, or lacrosse stick.
He took a wild slash at the ball but the captain saved the team's skin by hacking it clear and setting up the team for a strike on the goal.
- 3
A sharp reduction in resources allotted.
After the war ended, the army saw a 50% slash in their operating budget.
- 4
A deep cut or laceration, as made by an edged weapon or whip.
He was bleeding from a slash across his cheek.
- 5
A deep taper-pointed incision in a plant.
- 6
A slit in an outer garment, usually exposing a lining or inner garment of a contrasting color or design.
- 7
CanadaUSA clearing in a forest, particularly one made by logging, fire, or other violent action.
- 8
The slash mark: the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩.
- 9
obsoleterareA drink of something; a draft.
- 10
UKslangvulgarA piss: an act of urination.
Where's the gents? I need to take a slash.
- 11
UKrareslangvulgarPiss; urine.
That bus shelter smells of slash.
- 12
A swampy area; a swamp.
On the North side of one of ye Windings of a great Slash or Swamp called ye Roundabout.
- 13
A slash pine, which grows in such (swampy) areas.
[…] second growth long-leaf yellow slash. And also we have a short-leaf pine.
- 14
ScotlandA large quantity of watery food such as broth.
- 15
UKAlternative form of slatch: a deep trough of finely-fractured culm or a circular or elliptical pocket of coal.
verb
- 1
To cut with a swift broad stroke of an edged weapon.
They slashed at him with their swords, but only managed to nick one of his fingers.
- 2
To produce a similar wound with a savage strike of a whip.
- 3
To strike swiftly and laterally with a hockey stick, usually across another player's arms or legs.
- 4
To reduce sharply.
All prices slashed!
- 5
To create slashes in a garment.
- 6
To criticize cuttingly.
- 7
To strike violently and randomly, particularly
- 8
To swing wildly at the ball.
- 9
UKslangTo piss, to urinate.
- 10
ScotlandTo work in wet conditions.
adverb
- 1
Used to note the sound or action of a slash.
conjunction
- 1
CanadaUSUsed to connect two or more identities in a list.
Saul Hudson is a famous musician/songwriter.
- 2
CanadaUSUsed to list alternatives.
Alternatives can be marked by the slash/stroke/solidus punctuation mark, a tall, right-slanting oblique line. Read: Alternatives can be marked by the slash-slash-stroke-slash-solidus punctuation mark, a tall, right-slanting oblique line.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Slash in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | entaille, taillade , barre oblique, barre , entailler, taillader |
| German | Hieb , Bruchstrich, Schrägstrich , aufschlitzen |
| Portuguese | talho , barra, barra oblíqua , mijada |
| Spanish | barra oblicua, barra, slash, diagonal , tajear |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does slash come from?
Late Middle English, originally a verb of uncertain etymology. Perhaps of imitative origin, or possibly from Old French esclachier (“to break in pieces”), a variant of esclater, which is likely a Germanic borrowing, from Frankish *slaitan (“to slit, tear”). Used in the Wycliffe Bible as slascht (see 1 Kings 5:18) but otherwise unattested until 16th century. Conjunctive use from various applications of the punctuation mark ⟨/⟩. See also slash fiction.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).