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slam 1 (slăm)
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v. slammed, slam·ming, slams
v.tr.
1. To shut with force and loud noise: slammed the door.
2. To put, throw, or otherwise forcefully move so as to produce a loud noise: slammed the book on the desk.
3. To hit or strike with great force.
4. Slang To criticize harshly; censure forcefully.
5. Slang To drink quickly (a beverage, especially an alcoholic one). Often used with back or down.
v.intr.
1. To close or swing into place with force so as to produce a loud noise.
2. To hit something with force; crash: slammed into a truck.
n.
1.
a. A forceful impact that makes a loud noise.
b. A noise so produced.
2. An act of shutting forcefully and loudly: the slam of a door.
3. Slang A harsh or devastating criticism.
4. A poetry slam.
[Perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse slambra, to strike at.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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