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PlainSpell

sling

/ˈslɪŋ/verb, noun

sling is spelled S-L-I-N-G: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, sling means “To throw with a circular or arcing motion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in sling?

Letters5: S-L-I-N-G
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is sling?

Sling appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th 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 sling?

  • /ˈslɪŋ/

Sling has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-sling.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with sling

Also written: slim.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of sling

  • slings present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • slinging participle, present
  • slung participle, past
  • slang participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does sling mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To throw with a circular or arcing motion.

    Everyone could sling stones at an hairbreadth, and not miss.

  2. 2

    To throw with a sling.

  3. 3

    To pass a rope around (a cask, gun, etc.) preparatory to attaching a hoisting or lowering tackle.

  4. 4

    To hang or stow (a tool or other equipment or supplies) so that the object is ready to deploy.

  5. 5

    slangTo sell, peddle, or distribute (often illicitly, e.g. drugs, sex, etc.).

    You may know a lot about chemistry, man, but you don't know jack about slinging dope.

noun

  1. 1

    An instrument for throwing stones or other missiles, consisting of a short strap with two strings fastened to its ends, or with a string fastened to one end and a light stick to the other.

  2. 2

    A kind of hanging bandage put around the neck, in which a wounded arm or hand is supported.

  3. 3

    A loop of cloth, worn around the neck, for supporting a baby or other such load.

  4. 4

    A loop of rope, or a rope or chain with hooks, for suspending a barrel, bale, or other heavy object, in hoisting or lowering.

  5. 5

    A strap attached to a firearm, for suspending it from the shoulder.

  6. 6

    A band of rope or iron for securing a yard to a mast.

  7. 7

    The act or motion of hurling as with a sling; a throw; figuratively, a stroke.

  8. 8

    A loop of rope or fabric tape used for various purposes: e.g. as part of a runner, or providing extra protection when abseiling or belaying.

  9. 9

    A young or infant spider, such as one raised in captivity.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Sling in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchlancer (to throw), bicraver, fourguer (to sell with the frequent implication of…), fronde, bricole (instrument for throwing – see also slingshot), écharpe (bandage)
Germanschleudern, schmeißen (to throw), ticken, verticken, verchecken (to sell with the frequent implication of…), Schleuder (instrument for throwing – see also slingshot)
Portugueseatirar, jogar, arremessar, arrojar (to throw), funda, fundíbulo (instrument for throwing – see also slingshot)
Spanishtirar, lanzar, arrojar (to throw), honda (instrument for throwing – see also slingshot), cabestrillo, charpa (bandage)

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 sling come from?

From Middle English slynge (noun), slyngen (verb), probably from Old Norse slyngja, slyngva (“to hurl”), from Proto-Germanic *slingwaną (“to worm, twist”) or compare Old English slingan (“to wind, twist”), from the same source. Compare German schlingen (“to swing, wind, twist”), Danish and Norwegian slynge), from Proto-Indo-European *slenk- (“to turn, twist”) (compare Welsh llyngyr (“worms, maggots”), Lithuanian sliñkti (“to crawl like a snake”), Latvian slìkt (“to sink”)).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after sling