v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Slashed p. pr. & vb. n. Slashing. ] [ OE. slaschen, of uncertain origin; cf. OF. esclachier to break, esclechier, esclichier, to break, and E. slate, slice, slit, v. t. ] 1. To cut by striking violently and at random; to cut in long slits. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To lash; to ply the whip to. [ R. ] King. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To crack or snap, as a whip. [ R. ] Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To strike violently and at random, esp. with an edged instrument; to lay about one indiscriminately with blows; to cut hastily and carelessly. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hewing and slashing at their idle shades. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A long cut; a cut made at random. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A large slit in the material of any garment, made to show the lining through the openings. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. [ Cf. Slashy. ] pl. Swampy or wet lands overgrown with bushes. [ Local, U.S. ] Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A opening or gap in a forest made by wind, fire, or other destructive agency.

We passed over the shoulder of a ridge and around the edge of a fire slash, and then we had the mountain fairly before us. Henry Van Dyke. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. 1. Marked or cut with a slash or slashes; deeply gashed; especially, having long, narrow openings, as a sleeve or other part of a garment, to show rich lining or under vesture. [ 1913 Webster ]

A gray jerkin, with scarlet and slashed sleeves. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Divided into many narrow parts or segments by sharp incisions; laciniate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Textile Manuf.) A machine for applying size to warp yarns. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) A kind of pine tree (Pinus Cubensis) found in Southern Florida and the West Indies; -- so called because it grows in “slashes.” [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. Sw. slaska to dabble in water. Cf. Slush. ] Wet and dirty; slushy. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]