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slave

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //ˈsɫeɪv// UK //slˈeɪv// slave Archaic General-service

n. a person who is legally owned by someone else and forced to work for no money. In technology, it describes a machine or part that is controlled by another main part.

n. a person held in servitude as the property of another; also, a device or process that is controlled by another (the master) in a hierarchical system.


SIMPLE

The computer uses a slave drive to store extra data.

CONTEXTUAL

In professional photography, a slave flash triggers automatically when it detects the light from the main camera flash.

COMPLEX

Historians continue to study the systemic impact of the transatlantic trade on those who were held as slaves and the societies that profited from their forced labor.

Synonyms
Usage

In technical contexts, it is almost always paired with 'master' to describe a control relationship.

Idioms2 entries

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