̈ɪslæʃ v. & n. --v. 1 intr.
make a
sweeping or
random cut or cuts
with a
knife,
sword,
whip, etc. 2 tr. make
such a cut or cuts
at. 3 tr. make a long
narrow gash or gashes
in. 4 tr.
reduce (prices etc.) drastically. 5 tr.
censure vigorously. 6 tr. make (one's way) by
slashing. 7 tr. a
lash (a
person etc.) with a whip. b
crack (a whip). --n. 1 a a slashing cut or
stroke. b a wound or
slit made by
this. 2 an
oblique stroke; a
solidus. 3
Brit. sl. an
act of urinating. 4 US
debris resulting
from the felling or
destruction of trees. øslash-and-burn (of cultivation) in
which vegetation is cut down, allowed to
dry,
and then burned
off before seeds are planted. øøslasher n. [ME perh. f. OF esclachier break in pieces]