Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The winning of all the tricks or all but one during the play of one hand in bridge and other whist-derived card games.
  • noun A contract to make a slam.
  • intransitive verb To shut with force and loud noise.
  • intransitive verb To put, throw, or otherwise forcefully move so as to produce a loud noise.
  • intransitive verb To hit or strike with great force.
  • intransitive verb Slang To criticize harshly; censure forcefully.
  • intransitive verb Slang To drink quickly (a beverage, especially an alcoholic one). Often used with back or down.
  • intransitive verb To close or swing into place with force so as to produce a loud noise.
  • intransitive verb To hit something with force; crash.
  • noun A forceful impact that makes a loud noise.
  • noun A noise so produced.
  • noun An act of shutting forcefully and loudly.
  • noun Slang A harsh or devastating criticism.
  • noun A poetry slam.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To close with force and noise; shut with violence; bang.
  • To push violently or rudely; beat; cuff.
  • To throw violently and with a loud, sudden noise: as, to slam a book down upon the table.
  • In card-playing, to beat by winning all the tricks in a hand or game.
  • To move or close violently and with noise; strike violently and noisily against something.
  • noun An old game at cards.
  • noun An ill-shaped, shambling fellow.
  • noun A violent and noisy collision or bang, as when a door is suddenly shut by the wind, or by a vehement push: as, the shutters were closed with a slam.
  • noun The winning of all the tricks in a hand at whist, or in a game of euchre.
  • noun The refuse of alumworks.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To come or swing against something, or to shut, with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.
  • noun The act of one who, or that which, slams.
  • noun The shock and noise produced in slamming.
  • noun (Card Playing) Winning all the tricks of a deal (called, in bridge, grand slam, the winning of all but one of the thirteen tricks being called a little slam or small slam).
  • noun Prov. Eng. The refuse of alum works.
  • transitive verb To shut with force and a loud noise; to bang.
  • transitive verb To put in or on some place with force and loud noise; -- usually with down.
  • transitive verb Prov. Eng. To strike with some implement with force; hence, to beat or cuff.
  • transitive verb Prov. Eng. To strike down; to slaughter.
  • transitive verb To defeat (opponents at cards) by winning all the tricks of a deal or a hand.
  • transitive verb to shut or close with a slam.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun obsolete A type of card game, also called ruff and honours.
  • noun card games Losing or winning all the tricks in a game.
  • noun countable, bridge A bid of six (small slam) or seven (grand slam) in a suit or no trump.
  • verb transitive, card games To defeat by winning all the tricks of a deal or a hand.
  • verb transitive, ergative To shut with sudden force so as to produce a shock and noise.
  • verb transitive, ergative To put in or on a particular place with force and loud noise. (Often followed by a preposition such as down, against or into.)
  • verb transitive To strike forcefully with some implement.
  • verb transitive, colloquial To speak badly of.
  • verb basketball To dunk forcefully, to slam dunk.
  • verb intransitive, bridge To make a slam bid.
  • verb transitive to change providers (e.g. of domain registration or telephone carrier) for a customer without clear (if any) consent.
  • verb to drink off, to drink quickly
  • noun countable A sudden impact or blow.
  • noun countable The shock and noise produced by violently closing a door or other object.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse slambra, to strike at.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Origin unknown.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Apparently from a Scandinavian source; compare Norwegian slamre, Swedish slemma.

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