slays

Slays is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb slay. The base meaning is to kill by violence or to cause someone to die. The verb originates in Old English from slean/slægan, akin to German schlagen, with related forms in other Germanic languages. In standard modern English, the past tense is slew and the past participle slain, while slays is used for present tense: "He slays the dragon."

In modern usage, slay has taken on metaphorical senses. In everyday speech and online culture, to slay means to perform with excellence, impress, or surpass expectations. The form slays is used in positive contexts: "She slays on stage." The expression is common in entertainment media, fashion, sports, and memes. The nonliteral sense is informal and stylistic; it is typically inappropriate in formal or technical writing.

The word can appear in various compounds and related nouns, such as slayer for a person who slays, though slayer is often used for fictional antagonists and in media titles. Important note: because slay also means to kill, the context determines whether slays should be interpreted literally or metaphorically.