Slay
/slay, rhymes with day/verb · interjection
Meaning
Slay is an enthusiastic slang term for excelling at something or looking exceptionally stylish, attractive, or confident. Used alone as an interjection, it expresses approval or encouragement, similar to “amazing” or “keep it up.”[1][3]
- 1. To perform, compete, or complete a task exceptionally well.
- 2. To look strikingly attractive, stylish, or confident.
- 3. An exclamation showing strong approval, admiration, or encouragement.
Examples
“You slayed that presentation.”
“That outfit? Slay.”
“Slay, I knew you’d nail it.”
“The eyeliner is sharp—she came to slay.”
“This edit absolutely slays.”
Origin and spread
Slay is an old Germanic verb whose literal meaning is to kill or strike down. Earlier figurative uses included overwhelming an audience with laughter, but those are not the modern praise sense. The current slang use was circulating in Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ ballroom culture during the 1970s and 1980s, where slaying described flawless style, performance, movement, or attitude—a figurative extension comparable to “killing it.” It spread through drag, fashion, and wider queer culture, received greater exposure through the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning and RuPaul’s Drag Race, and became broadly recognizable through social media and pop culture in the 2010s.
How to use it
Slay is high-energy, informal praise suited to comments, captions, chats, performances, outfits, and personal wins. It may also be used jokingly or with exaggerated enthusiasm. Because the positive sense developed in Black and Latinx queer ballroom communities, using it with awareness of that history is more thoughtful than treating it as newly invented Gen Z slang. In serious discussions of death or violence, the literal meaning can create an awkward or insensitive double meaning.
Sources
- 1. PinkNews — The fascinating history of the LGBTQ+ slang term ‘slay’Supports: earliest documented use, meaning.
- 2. Burnett Foundation Aotearoa — Popular queer slang and its origins
- 3. TIME — Dictionary Adds Definitions for ‘Alt-Right,’ ‘420,’ ‘Slay’Supports: meaning.
- 4. UPrinting — The Top 60 Gen Z Slang Words in 2025
