- 1slash something to make a long cut with a sharp object, especially in a violent way synonym slit Someone had slashed the tires on my car. She tried to kill herself by slashing her wrists. We had to slash our way through the undergrowth with sticks.
- 2[often passive] slash something (often used in newspapers) to reduce something by a large amount to slash costs/prices/fares, etc. The workforce has been slashed by half. Thesauruscutslash cut something back scale something back streamline downsizeThese words all mean to reduce the amount or size of something, especially of an amount of money or a business.cut to reduce something, especially an amount of money that is demanded, spent, earned, etc. or the size of a business:The President has promised to cut taxes significantly. Most small business owners work hard to cut costs. His salary has been cut by ten percent. Could you cut your essay from 5,000 to 3,000 words?slash [often passive] (somewhat informal) (often used in newspapers) to reduce something by a large amount:Prices have been slashed in the clearance sale.cut something back/cut back on something to reduce something, especially an amount of money or business:We had to cut back on production.scale something back (especially business) to reduce something, especially an amount of money or business:The IMF has scaled back its growth forecasts for the next decade.streamline (business) to make changes to a business or system, in order to make it more efficient, especially by spending less money.downsize (business) to make a company or organization smaller by reducing the number of jobs in it, in order to reduce costs. Downsize is often used by people who want to avoid saying more obvious words like “fire” or “lay off” because they sound too negative.Patterns to cut/slash/cut back on/scale back/streamline production to cut/slash/cut back on/scale back spending to cut/slash/cut back on jobs to cut/slash/downsize the workforce to cut/slash prices/taxes/the budget/the cost of something to cut something/slash something/cut something back drastically Phrasal Verbsslash at somebody/something (with something)
NAmE//slæʃ//Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they slash
he / she / it slashes
past simple slashed
-ing form slashing