slut

slut — noun

1. an extremely offensive word used to attack someone, especially a woman, by accus

1.nounC1
Definition

an extremely offensive word used to attack someone, especially a woman, by accusing them of having sex with many different partners.

Example

Christopher called his ex-girlfriend a slut after she started dating someone new.

offensive term used as personal attack

The online commenters used the word slut to harass the actress.

used in online harassment context

Common collocations
  • call someone a slut
  • use the word slut
  • branded a slut
Synonyms
  • whore

    equally offensive; more directly links sexual promiscuity to prostitution

  • tramp

    older, less common in modern use; carries the same derogatory force

Grammar Patterns

often used as a term of abuse

Usage Note

This is one of the most offensive English slurs directed at women for their sexual behaviour. Using it causes serious emotional harm. Many schools and workplaces have policies against such language.

Common Mistakes

She is such a slut because she has had several boyfriends.
She has had several boyfriends, but calling her a slut is an offensive insult that shames her.
The word is a slur, not a neutral description of sexual behaviour.

2. an insulting term, now old-fashioned, directed at someone regarded as extremely

2.nounC1
Definition

an insulting term, now old-fashioned, directed at someone regarded as extremely dirty, messy, and unwilling to clean.

Example

Romi's grandmother used the word slut for any woman whose house was untidy.

old-fashioned usage context

Aylin said calling a messy neighbour a slut was once common but now seems odd.

historical register note

Common collocations
  • called a slut for being messy
  • old novel used slut to mean
Synonyms
  • slattern

    equally old-fashioned and rare; specifically refers to untidiness

  • slob

    informal but less offensive than slut; can refer to a person of any gender

Grammar Patterns

used as a personal insult

Usage Note

This older meaning ('untidy woman') is now very rare. Most modern English speakers understand slut only in sense 1 (PROMISCUOUS INSULT), which has made even the original meaning offensive by association.

Common Mistakes

She left her room messy, so her mother called her a slut.
Her mother called her a slob for leaving the room messy.
Using slut for messiness is old-fashioned and still offensive; use slob for a more neutral term.

Word family

  • slutty
    adjectiveC1
  • sluttish
    adjectiveC2
  • slut-shaming
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Slut, whore, and tramp are all deeply offensive slurs that shame a person — nearly always a woman — for real or perceived sexual activity. Slut is the most common in modern speech and is frequently used in online harassment and school bullying. Whore carries the added implication of exchanging sex for money, though it is also used as a generic insult similar to slut. Tramp is older and less common today but retains the same derogatory meaning. All three words cause real harm: calling a classmate a slut can lead to depression and social isolation. None of these words has a neutral or acceptable use — even in joking contexts they reinforce harmful stereotypes.

slut ↗whore ↗tramp ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • call someone a slut
  • use the word slut
  • branded a slut
  • slut-shaming

Etymology

Middle EnglishEnglish

Slut comes from Middle English slutte, recorded around 1400 with the meaning 'a dirty or untidy woman.' The word was originally about messiness, not sexual behaviour. By the 1600s it had developed the additional meaning of a woman with loose sexual morals. Over the 1900s, the sexual meaning became dominant, while the original messy meaning faded. Today, slut is widely recognized as a harmful slur, though the older meaning survives in historical texts.