Definition of slang Slang
/slæˈŋ/ - [slang] - slang
We found 23 definitions of slang from 8 different sources.
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What does slang mean?
WordNet
NounPlural: slangs |
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| slang - a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo" | ||
| cant, jargon, lingo, argot, patois, vernacular | ||
| non-standard speech speech that differs from the usual accepted, easily recognizable speech of native adult members of a speech community | ||
| street name the name of a street | ||
| rhyming slang slang that replaces words with rhyming words or expressions and then typically omits the rhyming component; "Cockney rhyming slang" | ||
| slang - informal language consisting of words and expressions that are not considered appropriate for formal occasions; often vituperative or vulgar; "their speech was full of slang expressions" | ||
| slang expression, slang term | ||
| non-standard speech speech that differs from the usual accepted, easily recognizable speech of native adult members of a speech community | ||
Verb |
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| slang - use slang or vulgar language | ||
| speak, talk use language; "the baby talks already"; "the prisoner won't speak"; "they speak a strange dialect" | ||
| slang - abuse with coarse language | ||
| blackguard, clapperclaw, abuse, shout claw with the nails | ||
| slang - fool or hoax; "The immigrant was duped because he trusted everyone"; "You can't fool me!" | ||
| gull, dupe, befool, cod, fool, put on, take in, put one over, put one across | ||
| deceive, lead astray, betray cause someone to believe an untruth; "The insurance company deceived me when they told me they were covering my house" | ||
| pull the leg of, kid tell false information to for fun; "Are you pulling my leg?" | ||
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Wiktionary 
- slang (Noun)
Language outside of conventional usage. - slang (Noun)
Language that is unique to a particular profession or subject; jargon. - slang (Noun)
The specialized language of a social group, sometimes used to make what is said unintelligible to those not members of the group; cant. - slang (Verb)
To vocally abuse, or shout at.
Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘
- slang
imp. of Sling. Slung. - slang (n.)
Any long, narrow piece of land; a promontory. - slang (n.)
A fetter worn on the leg by a convict. - slang (n.)
Low, vulgar, unauthorized language; a popular but unauthorized word, phrase, or mode of expression; also, the jargon of some particular calling or class in society; low popular cant; as, the slang of the theater, of college, of sailors, etc. - slang (v. t.)
To address with slang or ribaldry; to insult with vulgar language. - slang
of Sling
OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω
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slang
Language that is higly informal, considered below what is considered standard educated speech, and consisting of new words, old words used with new meanings, or words considered taboo by people of a higher social status. -
slang
Terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event.
Chambers DictionaryChamber's 20th Century Dictionary 📕
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slang
slang, n. a conventional tongue with many dialects, which are, as a rule, unintelligible to outsiders, such as Gypsy, Canting or Flash, Back-slang, and Shelta or Tinkers' Talk: any kind of colloquial and familiar language serving as a kind of class or professional shibboleth.—adj. pertaining to slang.—v.i. to use slang, and esp. abusive language.—v.t. to scold.—adv. Slang′ily.—n. Slang′iness.—adj. Slang′ular, slangy.—v.i. Slang′-whang, to talk slangily or boisterously.—n. Slang′-whang′er, an abusive and wordy fellow.—adj. Slang′y. [Explained by Skeat as Scand., Norw. sleng, a slinging, a device, a burthen of a song, slengja, to sling. Leland boldly makes it Romany, and orig. applied to everything relating to shows—in Hindustani, Swangi, also often Slangi.] -
slang
slang, n. a narrow strip of land.—Also Slank′et. Slang, slang, n. (slang) a counterfeit weight or measure: a travelling show, or a performance of the same: a hawker's license: a watch-chain: (pl.) convicts' leg-irons
Vulgar Tongue DictionaryDictionary of the Vulgar Tongue 👅
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slang
A fetter. Double slanged; double ironed. Now double slanged into the cells for a crop he is knocked down; he is double ironed in the condemned cells, and ordered to be hanged. -
slang
Cant language.
Wikipedia 
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Slang is jargon used by the general public. Usually each generation or social group has its own slang - for example, older people can have trouble understanding the slang of younger people. On the other hand, younger people often understand, but find silly or old-fashioned, the slang of older people.
Over time, language tends to get more complex, since new words enter much faster than old words leave. Over time, slang almost always becomes part of the language, and approved for use by all.
It has also happened that some words used in Anglo-Saxon for bodily functions became thought of as profanity or rude after they were replaced by Latinate words like "urinate", "defecate" and "copulate" - which polite people were supposed to use after the Norman invasion of England in 1066. This was in part a way of making poor people (who spoke Anglo-Saxon) all appear to be rude, while more powerful people (who spoke Norman) appeared to be polite - one way that etiquette can develop, and reinforce power structure. This is only one example from history of how racism can be a reason for defining one group's language as 'slang' and another as 'correct'.
Wanting to have rules of grammar that do not change and the same vocabulary used by everyone for better communication is another reason that is often given for defining one group's language as correct.
An "idiom" can be slang, but it can also be a metaphor that becomes part of the culture.
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