slut

Etymology

From Middle English slutt, slutte, slute (“a dirty or slovenly person, usually a woman, scullery maid; messy animal to prepare as food; slush, mud”), probably from Old English *slȳte (“sleet”), from Proto-West Germanic *slautijā, from Proto-Germanic *slautijǭ (“sleet, hail”), related to Proto-West Germanic *slaut (“puddle, ditch”). Compare Dutch slodder and slet, dialectal Swedish slata (“idle woman”), Norwegian sludd (“sleet”), and the dialectal Norwegian slutr (“sleet, impure liquid”). Doublet of sleet.

noun

1. (vulgar, often derogatory) A sexually promiscuous woman or girl.
   dirty slut
   total slut
   1. (vulgar, by extension) A prostitute.
      You could hire a slut for a few hours, if you're that desperate.
2. (vulgar, derogatory) Any sexually promiscuous person, often a gay man.
   Before he met you, he was such a whore. No, I'm sorry! Whores get paid. He was a slut. 2005, Adam & Steve
3. (vulgar, figurative, often derogatory) Someone who seeks attention through inappropriate means or to an excessive degree.
   a press slut
4. (vulgar, figurative, often derogatory) A disloyal individual; someone who does not commit to a particular thing.
   That guy was a job slut; he changed jobs way too often and quickly, to the point that employers will no longer hire him.
5. (archaic, derogatory) A slovenly, untidy person, usually a woman.
   The doat on Dowdyes, and Deformity: E'en what they cannot praise, they will not blame, But veil with some extenuating name: The Sallow Skin is for the Swarthy put, And love can make a Slattern of a Slut … 1685, John Dryden, Slyvae: or, the Second Part of Poetical Miscellanies, "Lucretius: The Fourth Book. Concerning the Nature of Love,: lines 142-46
6. (obsolete, derogatory) A bold, outspoken woman.
   Our Polly is a sad Slut! nor heeds what we have taught her. 1728, John Gay, Begger’s Opera
   To hear her rant, one would have supposed, who had not seen him, that her lank-haired, grimly partner, was the prettiest youth in the county of Dublin, and that all the comely lasses in Chapelizod and the country round were sighing and setting caps at him; and Devereux, who had a vein of satire, and loved even farce, enjoyed the heroics of the fat old slut. 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard
7. (obsolete) A female dog.
   ‘Bête!’ returned the angry Frenchman, bestowing a savage kick on one of the unoffending pups which was frisking about his feet. The pup yelped; the slut barked and leaped furiously at the offender, and was only kept from biting him by Sam, who could scarcely hold her back for laughing; the captain was uproarious; the offended Frenchman alone maintained a severe and dignified aspect. 1852, Susanna Moodie, Roughing it in the Bush
   He sent me to an old bark hut, / Inhabited by a greyhound slut, / Who put her fangs through my poor fut, / And, snarling, off she ran. 1905, Banjo Paterson, Old Bush Songs, page 42
8. (obsolete) A maidservant.
   Our little girl Susan is a most admirable slut, and pleases us mightily, doing more service than both the others and deserves wages better. 1664, Samuel Pepys, The Diary of Samuel Pepys
9. (obsolete) A rag soaked in a flammable substance and lit for illumination.

verb

1. (vulgar) To wear slutty clothing or makeup, or otherwise behave in a slutty manner.
   In an effort to avoid any spontaneous slutting out, I give myself a stern look in the mirror. "You can make out with him, but that's it," I tell my boy-crazed reflection. 2009, Shauna Cross, Whip It
2. (slang, vulgar, usually with around) To visit places frequented by men, with the intention of engaging in sexual intercourse by means of flirting.
   Shirley, you slut around here again, and I swear to God I'll break your neck. 1998, David Baldacci, The Winner
   The radicals are reluctant to admit that slutting around is a phase that most gay men go through, but not a permanent — what's that phrase? Oh, yes — "lifestyle choice." 2001 January, Dan Savage, “Sluts Like Us”, in Out, volume 9, number 7, page 37