to slam on the brakes
6
3.2
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
frenar de golpe
- Finally, Early slams on the brakes and skids 180 degrees to a halt...
- driver slams on the brakes
- car slams on the brakes
- suddenly slammed on the brakes
You know, a girl shows up in her fucking Trans am, slams on the brakes in the front yard, gets out of her car, busts a huge fart.
- You know, a girl shows up in her fucking Trans am, slams on the brakes in the front yard, gets out of her car, busts a huge fart.
Examples
-
He slammed on the brakes, but it was moving too quickly.
-
As they turned the corner, the driver slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt.
Fiction book (2002) -
I thought something ran out in front of me, so I had to slam on the brakes and I nearly went off the road.
-
At thirty miles an hour, I have to slam on the brakes.
Fiction book (1994) -
The other car came out of nowhere... and I--I slammed on the brakes.
-
The bus continues; Rath slams on the brakes.
Fiction book (1995) -
Then the car entered the city of Menton, and the man slammed on the brakes without warning.
Fiction book (2001) -
The driver slammed on the brakes and swerved around the deer.
Fiction book (1997) -
Strausz slams on the brakes and skids to a halt.
Fiction book (1996) -
As they approached the red light, the driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision.
Synonyms
23
1.0
To make a moving vehicle slow down or stop by pressing a pedal
Antonyms
How Sudden
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to apply the brakes suddenly and forcefully' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'slam' (to forcefully hit or apply) with 'on the brakes' (the vehicle stopping mechanism). This is a largely literal, action-based collocation found across many languages and follows standard verb + particle + object composition, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The phrase slam on the brakes comes from the image of a driver pushing their foot hard to slam the pedal onto the brakes, making the car stop suddenly. That's why it means 'to stop quickly'.