slavery
noun
slav·ery
ˈslā-v(ə-)rē 
plural slaveries
1
a
: the practice or institution of holding people as chattel involuntarily and under threat of violence
In reality, though, African forms of slavery didn't compare with the racialized industrial variants that Western empires unleashed upon the world. … Here in the United States … the enslaved were relegated to subhuman status for generations.—
Julian Lucas
Julian LucasSlavery officially ended in New Jersey in 1804, but in practice some people remained slaves until 1865, when the ratification of the 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery in the United States.—Suzanne Travers
Suzanne Travers
b
: the state of a person who is forced usually under threat of violence to labor for the profit of another
[Frederick] Douglass, born a slave in Maryland in 1818, escaped from slavery at the age of twenty and quickly emerged as a major orator and leader of the antislavery crusade.—Manning Marable
Manning MarableThe organization says it has helped 135 victims escape sex slavery over the past 10 years.—Audrey McAvoy
Audrey McAvoy
c
: a situation or practice in which people are entrapped (as by debt) and exploited
… the unit has freed more than 26,000 workers nationwide from debt slavery. Under the practice, common in the Amazon, poor laborers are lured to remote spots where they rack up debts to plantation owners who charge exorbitant prices for everything from food to transportation.—Vivian Sequera
Vivian SequeraMany members of my own family, including my mother and father, fled their work as sharecroppers in the South. They left for good reason: the profession offered no future and was little more than wage slavery.—Will Allen
Will Allen2
: submission to a dominating influence
slavery to habit
… it will probably be left to the next administration to act hopefully in a bold and visionary manner to free us from our slavery to oil.—Alon Ben-Meir
Alon Ben-MeirSynonyms
Examples of slavery in a Sentence
Frederick Douglass was central advocate for the abolition of slavery.
My dad put up with the slavery of working in the coal mines every day of his adult life.
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2019, with the support of the Freedom Fund, an international nonprofit dedicated to ending modern slavery, Ms. Banda founded Foundation for Girls Leadership to promote children’s rights and teach leadership skills to girls.
—Rabson Kondowe, New York Times, 10 May 2024
Gardiner is no longer assigned to the case, for reasons unrelated to his citation of slavery as a precedent.
—Matthew Barakat, Fortune, 9 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for slavery 
Rabson Kondowe, New York Times, 10 May 2024
Gardiner is no longer assigned to the case, for reasons unrelated to his citation of slavery as a precedent.
—Matthew Barakat, Fortune, 9 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for slavery
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slavery.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near slavery
Cite this Entry
“Slavery.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slavery. Accessed 18 May. 2024.
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slavery
noun
slav·ery
ˈslāv-(ə-)rē
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