slave
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.
n.a person held in servitude as the property of another, whose labour and life are subject to the owner's control.
Simple“In the 1800s, many people fought to end the laws that allowed one person to own a slave.”
In context“Historical accounts detail the brutal conditions endured by every slave on the plantation, highlighting the systemic dehumanisation inherent in chattel slavery.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
n.someone who is completely controlled by a habit, emotion, or influence.
n.one who has no power of resistance to a specific influence or is under the domination of a habit.
Simple“He admitted that he had become a slave to his work, never leaving the office before midnight.”
In context“The protagonist is depicted as a slave to his own ambition, eventually sacrificing his personal relationships for professional gain.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.a machine or part of a machine that is controlled by another 'master' machine.
n.a device or software process that is subject to the control of another primary device or process.
Simple“The photographer used a slave flash that triggered automatically when the main camera flashed.”
In context“The database architecture was configured with one master node and three slave nodes to handle the high volume of read requests.”
UsageIn modern technical contexts, many organisations are replacing this term with 'secondary' or 'replica' to avoid offensive connotations.
Teacher's tipTeachers should note that this terminology is being phased out in many tech companies in favour of more neutral language.
Synonyms - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to work very hard for a long time, especially doing boring or difficult work.
v.to work in a laborious or drudging manner; to toil excessively.
Simple“I've been slaving away in the kitchen all morning to get this dinner ready for you.”
In context“Despite slaving away at the research for months, the assistant received very little credit when the final paper was published.”
UsageOften used with the particle 'away'.
Usage slave trade
“Sankofa is a Ghanaian word, taken from the language of the people on the west coast of Africa who sold most of the slaves into the trans-Atlantic slave trade.”