Slaw is a cold side dish of shredded cabbage, usually mixed with a creamy or sharp dressing. In everyday American English especially, slaw is just a short, casual way to say coleslaw. You order slaw with fried chicken, a sandwich, or barbecue. It is food-talk, not a formal word. Though actually, menus sometimes stretch it a little — broccoli slaw, red slaw — so the bowl is still shredded and cold, but cabbage is still what most people picture first. You would not use slaw to mean any salad.