slavery

noun

slav·​ery ˈslā-v(ə-)rē How to pronounce slavery (audio)
plural slaveries
1
a
: the practice or institution of holding people as chattel involuntarily and under threat of violence
In reality, though, African forms of slavery didn't compare with the racialized industrial variants that Western empires unleashed upon the world. … Here in the United States … the enslaved were relegated to subhuman status for generations.Julian Lucas
Slavery officially ended in New Jersey in 1804, but in practice some people remained slaves until 1865, when the ratification of the 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery in the United States.Suzanne Travers
b
: the state of a person who is forced usually under threat of violence to labor for the profit of another
[Frederick] Douglass, born a slave in Maryland in 1818, escaped from slavery at the age of twenty and quickly emerged as a major orator and leader of the antislavery crusade.Manning Marable
The organization says it has helped 135 victims escape sex slavery over the past 10 years. —Audrey McAvoy
c
: a situation or practice in which people are entrapped (as by debt) and exploited
… the unit has freed more than 26,000 workers nationwide from debt slavery. Under the practice, common in the Amazon, poor laborers are lured to remote spots where they rack up debts to plantation owners who charge exorbitant prices for everything from food to transportation.Vivian Sequera
Many members of my own family, including my mother and father, fled their work as sharecroppers in the South. They left for good reason: the profession offered no future and was little more than wage slavery.Will Allen
2
: submission to a dominating influence
slavery to habit
… it will probably be left to the next administration to act hopefully in a bold and visionary manner to free us from our slavery to oil.Alon Ben-Meir

Examples of slavery in a Sentence

Frederick Douglass was central advocate for the abolition of slavery. My dad put up with the slavery of working in the coal mines every day of his adult life.
Recent Examples on the Web In addition, there’s been a concerted effort to broaden the pursuit with issues of emancipation and enfranchisement and the effects of slavery, giving screen time to Black characters and causes, rather than allowing this to be merely the story of one white man chasing another. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Affirmative action should not simply be a tool for diversity but should alleviate the particular conditions of descendants of slavery. Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 My Name Is Barbra by Barbra Streisand A ‘Wary Faith’ in the Courts A groundbreaking new book demonstrates that even during the days of slavery, African Americans knew a lot more about legal principles than has been imagined. Erin Maglaque, The New York Review of Books, 12 Mar. 2024 Durkin, a scholar of slavery and the African diaspora, traces them to communities in Alabama established by the formerly enslaved, such as Africatown and Gee’s Bend, and finds in their stories antecedents for the Harlem Renaissance and the civil-rights movement. The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 One was set in 1875 just as slavery is ending and the other is set in 1987, both in Louisiana. Janet B. Carson, arkansasonline.com, 26 Feb. 2024 Moor, donning a yellow dashiki with a long gold rope chain, strolls around the classroom discussing how Black consciousness has evolved since the end of slavery. C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024 Mayor Pro-Tem Monica Wilson moved for approval, with an extension until Juneteenth, the June 19 holiday that commemorates the end of slavery. Judith Prieve, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024 The results arrived six weeks later, revealing a personal history that Hammons shares with many descendants of people brought to the U.S. in bondage from Africa and sold into slavery. Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slavery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Time Traveler
The first known use of slavery was in 1548

Dictionary Entries Near slavery

Cite this Entry

“Slavery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slavery. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

slavery

noun
slav·​ery ˈslāv-(ə-)rē How to pronounce slavery (audio)
1
2
a
: the state of being a slave
b
: the practice of slaveholding

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