1The killing of a person or animal.

1. 1.1North American The murder of someone (used chiefly in journalism)
   count noun a gangland slaying

   Example sentencesExamples

   • Initially, the reports of the slayings were largely unnoticed.
   • Neighbors said they knew little about the man suspected in the slayings.
   • Three teenagers were convicted of the slayings.
   • Last year, Homewood again was the most violent neighborhood, with 11 slayings.
   • The Victorian government has never seemed shaken by the slayings.
   • Thomas had worked as a state insurance claims adjuster since 1989, the year the second wave of slayings stopped, the newspaper reported.
   • Finally, we have the perpetrator of all these heinous slayings.
   • They were housewives, farmers, taxi drivers, milkmen or just young Catholics shot dead in random slayings.
   • Killen's name has been associated with the 1964 slayings from the outset.
   • The girls allegedly smoked marijuana just before the slayings.
   • None of those convicted in the 1969 slayings in Los Angeles has been released.
   • The national murder figures, which are up by 25 to 784, do not suggest a big surge in knife slayings.
   • He said Hixson was believed to still have the shotgun allegedly used in the slayings with him.
   • That year, a series of attacks on elderly women began, including five slayings in the nearby Los Angeles County town of Claremont.
   • Ridgway was arrested nearly two years ago and was ultimately charged with seven slayings.
   • An estranged family member has now been charged with the slayings.
   • The classic serial killer takes extended breaks between slayings, ranging from weeks to months.
   • A 26-year-old man was charged for the brutal slayings.
   • You would think that the concept of random highway slayings would evoke some fear.
   • A handgun used in the slayings was found nearby.