slum

noun
UK: /slʌm/
US: /slʌm/

  1. A very poor and crowded area of a city where the buildings are in bad condition.

    1. Many people live in a slum.
    2. The government is trying to improve conditions in the slum areas of the city.

  2. A house or building unfit for human habitation due to its squalid or dilapidated condition.

    1. This house is a slum.
    2. The old tenement buildings had become a slum, riddled with crime and neglect.

Synonyms

ghetto hovel tenement skid row
slum intransitive-verb

  1. To spend time in a slum or in conditions associated with a slum, often for curiosity or pleasure.

    1. They slum it for a day.
    2. Wealthy tourists sometimes slum it in poor neighborhoods to experience a different lifestyle.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "slum" in English means: A very poor and crowded area of a city where the buildings are in bad condition., A house or building unfit for human habitation due to its squalid or dilapidated condition..

The phonetic transcription of "slum" is /slʌm/ in British English and /slʌm/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "slum": ghetto, hovel, tenement, skid row.

Example usage of "slum": "Many people live in a slum.". More examples on the page.