as in punches
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
one well aimed slug on the head knocked him out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in snails
a lazy person
he's always a slug in the morning, which is why he prefers to sleep late
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in hits
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
she got so angry that she slugged the back of the chair and knocked it over
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of slugs
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2025
Down the beach Madam LeFleur stood on the porch of her boardinghouse beating slugs off a yak wool rug.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Rows of blowsy moss-green cabbages, their thick veins silvered with spider webs, the edges of their tougher outer leaves nibbled by slugs and snails.
—Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
And if there isn’t a card to morph Janeway and Chakotay into slugs I’d be disappointed.
—Curtis Silver, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Watch your step for banana slugs.
—Daniel Bromfield, The Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2025
Gastropods are a class of mollusks that include snails, slugs and whelks.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2025
Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Noun
Place a piece of 6 x 6-inch piece of cardboard or thin plywood on the garden surface to attract slugs, then check under it every morning.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 28 Aug. 2025
Down the beach Madam LeFleur stood on the porch of her boardinghouse beating slugs off a yak wool rug.
—Charna Flam, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Rows of blowsy moss-green cabbages, their thick veins silvered with spider webs, the edges of their tougher outer leaves nibbled by slugs and snails.
—Literary Hub, 15 Aug. 2025
And if there isn’t a card to morph Janeway and Chakotay into slugs I’d be disappointed.
—Curtis Silver, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Watch your step for banana slugs.
—Daniel Bromfield, The Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2025
Gastropods are a class of mollusks that include snails, slugs and whelks.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 3 Jan. 2025
Verb
Machado slugs 169 points higher in wins.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slugs
Verb
-
Capped at 50 members, the jury evaluates every new vehicle, technology and feature that hits the market annually.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Many of the answers to that question won’t be popular, but governments are aware of the need to address the issue before crisis hits.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Israel Adesanya of Nigeria punches Kelvin Gastelum during the UFC 236 event at State Farm Arena on April 13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Yet the firm punches above its weight in custody, consistently ranking third behind Coinbase and BitGo.—
Marie Poteriaieva,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In the video posted on the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Public Records Unit YouTube channel, Flores can be seen lifting his head up after an officer knocks on the driver's door window of his stationary vehicle.—
Alex Nitzberg,
FOXNews.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
However, this week’s knocks to Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe expedited his full debut.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
For messing up, Martha clips Gabriel’s wings, forcing him to live life as a human, with a new casual wardrobe to match and a taste for fast food.—
Michael Rechtshaffen,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The latter happens when a ball clips the net before dropping in play.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
3 Sep. 2019
Verb
-
Instead, Ted slaps him in the face, twice.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Anthony thinks his fiancé wants a mother more than a partner, so Giuseppe slaps a pie into his face?—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Andor hates him on sight, which only intensifies when Berend smacks around his mother and tears up the apartment looking for proof that Klára has deceived the boy with idealized fictions about his origins.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Vocals are sped up into squiggles, instruments are reversed and gated, percussion smacks you in the face and then suddenly vanishes.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The steep new parking surcharge slams the brakes on that, hitting both visitors and the workers who would have served them.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Except Steven gets in a car wreck in episode two of season three, and trauma slams Belly and Jeremiah back together.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Slugs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slugs. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share