# slay

> English word · Verb · IPA /sleɪ/ · frequency rank #18,433

## Definitions
1. To kill; to murder.
2. To eradicate or stamp out.
3. To defeat; to overcome (in a competition or contest).
4. To delight or overwhelm, especially with laughter.
5. To amaze, stun, or otherwise incapacitate by excellence; to excel at something.
6. To have sex with.

## Etymology
From Middle English slayn, from Old English slēan (“to hit, punch, strike; to kill”), from Proto-West Germanic *slahan, from Proto-Germanic *slahaną (“to hit, strike; to kill”), from Proto-Indo-European *slak- (“to hit, strike, throw”).
Cognates
Cognate with Alemannic German schlaa (“to beat, hit”), Central Franconian schlage, schlon, schloon (“to beat, hit, strike”), Dutch and Low German slaan (“to beat, hit, strike”), German schlagen, schlahen, schlahn (“to beat, hit, strike”), Luxembourgish schloen (“to beat, defeat, hit”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish slå (“to beat, hit, strike”), Faroese sláa (“to beat, strike”), Icelandic slá (“to hit, strike”), Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (slahan, “to hit, smite, strike”). Related to slaughter, onslaught.

## Easily confused with
- **Sy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-sy)
- **spy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-spy)
- **spa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-spa)
- **soy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-soy)
- **sly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-sly)
- **STA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-sta)
- **SLR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-slr)
- **SMA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-sma)
- **SLC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-slc)
- **SoA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-soa)
- **SSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-ssa)
- **SLE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-sle)
- **sry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-sry)
- **SNA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-sna)
- **stay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-stay)
- **star** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-star)
- **slow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-slow)
- **slip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-slip)
- **snap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-snap)
- **Sony** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slay-vs-sony)

## Common misspellings (5)
`lsay`, `slayy`, `sllay`, `slya`, `sslay`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/slay