slug
/slʌɡ/ (bre, ipa) · /slʌɡ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈsləg/ (ame, mw)
slug — noun
- slugsingular
- slugsplural
1. a small slow-moving garden animal whose soft slimy body carries no hard shell, m
a small slow-moving garden animal whose soft slimy body carries no hard shell, much like a shell-less snail, and that often feeds on plants.
Chidi found a fat brown slug eating the lettuce in his vegetable patch.
typical context: a slug in a garden eating plants
After the rain, several slugs left silver trails across the wet garden path.
Yara screamed when a slimy slug crawled onto her bare foot.
The gardener scattered crushed eggshells to keep slugs away from the young plants.
- snail
a snail has a hard shell on its back; a slug does not
2. an insulting word for someone who is slow and does very little work or moves ver
an insulting word for someone who is slow and does very little work or moves very little.
Min called her brother a lazy slug for sleeping until noon every weekend.
informal insult: call someone a slug
Stop being such a slug and help us carry these heavy boxes upstairs.
The coach told the slugs on the bench to start training harder.
Tuan teased his roommate, calling him a slug who never washed a single dish.
用法筆記
Informal and insulting; used about lazy people, so avoid it in polite or formal speech.
3. a small heavy lump of metal shot out of a gun to hit a target.
a small heavy lump of metal shot out of a gun to hit a target.
The hunter loaded a single heavy slug into the old shotgun.
collocation: load a slug into a gun
A slug from the rifle tore straight through the wooden fence.
Élise dug a flattened slug out of the tree trunk after the shooting practice.
Police found two metal slugs lodged deep in the brick wall.
用法筆記
Often used for a single large bullet, especially from a shotgun, rather than small repeated rounds.
4. a single mouthful of liquor or another powerful drink, taken down in one swallow
a single mouthful of liquor or another powerful drink, taken down in one swallow.
Aarav poured a generous slug of whisky into his coffee to warm up.
pattern: a slug of [strong drink]
The cold sailor took a quick slug of rum straight from the bottle.
collocation: take a slug of
Christopher added a slug of brandy to the cake mixture for extra flavour.
After the long hike, Esme swallowed a slug of strong cider in one gulp.
文法句型
a slug of [drink]
用法筆記
Almost always followed by 'of' plus a strong drink, as in 'a slug of vodka'.
5. a flat round piece of metal shaped like a coin that people use in machines inste
a flat round piece of metal shaped like a coin that people use in machines instead of real money.
Joaquín dropped a cheap metal slug into the parking meter instead of a coin.
typical context: a slug used in a coin machine
The vending machine rejected the slug and spat it back out.
Olivia warned the children that using slugs in the laundry machines was illegal.
The arcade replaced its tokens because customers kept fooling the games with slugs.
- token
a legitimate coin-like piece sold by the machine's owner; a slug is usually fake
用法筆記
Often suggests cheating a machine, since real coins would normally be required.
6. a strong hit given with a closed hand.
a strong hit given with a closed hand.
Maja gave the punching bag a hard slug and felt her knuckles sting.
collocation: give something a slug
One heavy slug to the jaw sent the boxer staggering across the ring.
João took a painful slug on the shoulder during the rough rugby match.
The argument ended with an angry slug that broke the man's nose.
用法筆記
Informal and chiefly American; describes a single forceful blow rather than light hitting.
slug — verb
- slugpresent simple I / you / we / they
- slugs3rd person singular
- slugging-ing form
- sluggedpast simple
1. to hit a person very hard with your closed hand.
to hit a person very hard with your closed hand.
Eitan slugged the thief in the stomach and grabbed back his stolen bag.
pattern: slug somebody + body part
The angry driver got out and slugged the other man right in the face.
Vivek warned that he would slug anyone who tried to push past the line.
During the bar fight, one sailor slugged another and knocked him to the floor.
文法句型
slug + somebody
用法筆記
Informal and chiefly American; the object is the person being hit, often with a body part added.
常見錯誤
2. to strike a baseball with great force, usually sending it a long way.
to strike a baseball with great force, usually sending it a long way.
Harper slugged the ball over the back fence for an easy home run.
collocation: slug the ball over the fence
The young batter slugged a long hit deep into left field.
Eshe slugged the baseball so hard that the bat cracked in her hands.
Ziad stepped up to the plate and slugged the first pitch into the crowd.
文法句型
slug + the ball
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: here the object is the ball, not a person, and the meaning is forceful hitting in sport.