[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/slum/)

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# slum

noun (a slum, slums); verb (slum, slums, slummed, slumming — informal: slum it)

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

## Everyday

1. A slum is a very poor, crowded part of a city where houses are badly built and people often lack clean water, toilets and safe electricity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#m1)
2. (informal, UK) A very messy, dirty room or house: "Your bedroom is a slum!" [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#m2)
3. (verb, informal) To slum it means to live or stay somewhere much cheaper or less comfortable than you are used to, often just for a short time. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#m3)

### In the lessons

In geography and history lessons slums appear when cities grow fast: in Victorian London, in big cities of India, Brazil, Kenya and elsewhere today. The word tells the reader about poverty, overcrowding and danger from disease or fire. In stories it sets a hard, gritty scene. Phrases: "slum housing", "slum clearance", "live in a slum", "slum it", "slum landlord" (a landlord who rents out bad, unsafe homes).

### Examples

- Many families in the slum shared one water tap. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#x1)
- In Victorian times, slums near the factories were full of smoke and disease. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#x2)
- The city cleared the old slums and built new flats. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#x3)
- Mum looked into my room and said it was a total slum. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#x4)
- We had to slum it in a tiny tent when the hotel was full. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#x5)
- Charities help children in slums go to school. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#x6)
- A slum landlord was fined for leaving the flats damp and cold. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#x7)
- Our geography teacher showed photos of a huge slum in Mumbai. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slum/#x8)

### Note

Countable: one slum, two slums. Calling someone's home a slum is hurtful unless it is a joke about your own mess. Many people now say "informal settlement" or "shanty town" in geography. "Slum it" is informal; past: slummed it. Not the same as "slump" (a sudden fall).

## On Mova

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