slough

¹

Or sluff

[sluhf]

noun

1. the outer layer of the skin of a snake, which is cast off periodically.

2. Pathology.,  a mass or layer of dead tissue separated from the surrounding or underlying tissue.

3. anything that is shed or cast off.

4. Cards.,  a discard.

verb (used without object)

1. to be or become shed or cast off, as the slough of a snake.

2. to cast off a slough.

   Synonyms: molt

3. Pathology.,  to separate from the sound flesh, as a slough.

4. Cards.,  to discard a card or cards.

verb (used with object)

1. to dispose or get rid of; cast (often followed byoff ).

   to slough off a bad habit.

2. to shed as or like a slough.

3. Cards.,  to discard (cards).

verb phrase

1. slough over,  to treat as slight or trivial.

   to slough over a friend's mistake.

slough

²

[slou, sloo]

noun

1. a swamp or swamplike region.

2. Northern U.S. and Canada.,  Also slew, slue a usually shallow and slow-moving marshy or reedy body of water, such as one that provides drainage; wetland.

3. a hole full of mud or wet soil, such as one in a road.

4. a condition of degradation, despair, or helplessness.

   Exercise was one thing that helped to lift me out of the slough of depression.

slough

¹

/ slaʊ /

noun

1. a hollow filled with mud; bog

2. 1. (in the prairies) a large hole where water collects or the water in such a hole

   2. (in the northwest) a sluggish side channel of a river

   3. (on the Pacific coast) a marshy saltwater inlet

3. despair or degradation

slough

²

/ slʌf /

noun

1. any outer covering that is shed, such as the dead outer layer of the skin of a snake, the cellular debris in a wound, etc

2. Also: sluff. bridge a discarded card

verb

1. (often foll by off) to shed (a skin, etc) or (of a skin, etc) to be shed

2. Also: sluff. bridge to discard (a card or cards)

Slough

³

/ slaʊ /

noun

1. an industrial town in SE central England, in Slough unitary authority, Berkshire; food products, high-tech industries. Pop: 126 276 (2001)

2. a unitary authority in SE central England, in Berkshire. Pop: 118 800 (2003 est). Area: 28 sq km (11 sq miles)

slough

1. The dead outer skin shed by a reptile or an amphibian.

1. To shed an outer layer of skin.

Other Word Forms

• sloughy adjective
• sloughiness noun
• unsloughed adjective
• unsloughing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slough¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English slough, slugh(e), slouh “skin of a snake”; cognate with Low German sluwe, slu “husk, peel,” German Schlauch “skin, wineskin, bag”

Origin of slough²

First recorded before 900; Middle English slough(e), slouh(e) “muddy place, mud hole,” Old English slōh, slōg; cognate with Middle Low German slōch, Middle High German sluoche “ditch”; further origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of slough¹

Old English slōh; related to Middle High German sluoche ditch, Swedish slaga swamp

Origin of slough²

C13: of Germanic origin; compare Middle Low German slū husk, German Schlauch hose, Norwegian slō fleshy part of a horn

Example Sentences

But the distinct scent of his home state will be hard to completely slough off in parts of the country where California is synonymous with loony lefties, business-killing regulation and an out-of-control homelessness crisis.

From Los Angeles Times

Every half-decade or so, Justin Bieber sloughs off the callused skin of the pop superstar he became at age 15 to reveal the tender and quirky R&B singer he’s always been at heart.

From Los Angeles Times

Rather than correct them, Liz decides to keep up the pretense — no great stretch for someone so used to sloughing off and trying on one alias after another.

From Los Angeles Times

The MS Aurora, a 70-year-old cruise ship that inspired TV’s ‘The Love Boat,’ sits abandoned in a slough outside Stockton.

From Los Angeles Times

Aiello, who has monitored environmental conditions at the slough for more than a decade, said he was shocked by the results.

From Los Angeles Times