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# slash

verb (slash, slashes, slashed, slashing); noun (a slash, slashes)

«slash» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To cut something with a long, quick, violent stroke of a blade. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#m1)
2. To reduce prices, costs or numbers by a lot. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#m2)
3. (noun) A long cut or a wild sweeping blow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#m3)
4. (noun) The sloping line symbol /, used in writing, fractions, dates and web addresses. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#m4)
5. (UK, slang, rude-ish) «Have a slash» means go for a wee (urinate); it is crude and not for school. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#m5)

### In the lessons

In maths the slash shows a fraction or division (3/4, 10/2); in dates in the UK 10/10/2026 means day/month/year, but in the USA it is month/day/year. In shops «prices slashed!» means big discounts. In stories slashing describes sword fights or ripped tyres. Phrases: «slash and burn» (clearing forest by cutting and burning, in geography).

### Examples

- Write three quarters as 3/4, with a slash. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#x1)
- The shop has slashed its prices by half. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#x2)
- The pirate slashed the rope with his sword. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#x3)
- Someone slashed the tyres on our car. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#x4)
- Type "and/or" with a slash between the words. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#x5)
- Farmers in some rainforests use slash-and-burn farming. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#x6)
- There was a long slash in the tent after the storm. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#x7)
- (UK slang, crude) "Back in a minute, I need a slash." [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#x8)
- He slashed into them with a stick and brought them low. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/#x9)

### Note

Regular verb; plural «slashes». The symbol «/» is also called a forward slash or oblique; «\\» is a backslash. In maths, a/b means a divided by b. A price «slashed by 50%» is halved.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «slash» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slash/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«slash» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/slash.html) on Mova free.