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Synonyms

slat

1 American  
[slat] / slæt /

noun

  1. a long thin, narrow strip of wood, metal, etc., used as a support for a bed, as one of the horizontal laths of a Venetian blind, etc.

  2. Aeronautics. a control surface along the leading edge of a wing that can be extended forward to create a gap slot to improve airflow.

  3. Slang. slats,

    1. the ribs.

    2. the buttocks.

    3. Slats, a nickname for a tall, slender man.

verb (used with object)

slatted, slatting

  1. to furnish or make with slats

slat 2 American  
[slat] / slæt /

verb (used with object)

slatted, slatting

  1. to throw or dash with force.

verb (used without object)

slatted, slatting

  1. to flap violently, as sails.

noun

  1. a slap; a sharp blow.

slat 1 British  
/ slæt /

noun

  1. a narrow thin strip of wood or metal, as used in a Venetian blind, etc

  2. a movable or fixed auxiliary aerofoil attached to the leading edge of an aircraft wing to increase lift, esp during landing and takeoff

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to provide with slats

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
slat 2 British  
/ slæt /

verb

  1. (tr) to throw violently; fling carelessly

  2. (intr) to flap violently

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a sudden blow

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
slat 3 British  
/ slæt /

noun

  1. a spent salmon

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of slat1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sclat, slat(te “a roofing tile, slate,” from Middle French esclat “splinter, chip”; éclat

Origin of slat2

First recorded in 1200–50; of obscure origin; possibly from Old Norse sletta “to slap, splash”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I want to melt through the slats in the dock.

From Literature

I felt each slat of wood through the thin pallet.

From Literature

As before, the entrance was barricaded - this time with bed slats wedged against the stairs to the first-floor property.

From BBC

The wooden slats creak as she walks along the jetty towards the shore.

From Literature

A robot slurry scraper travels up and down the cowshed at regular intervals, pushing any manure through the slatted floor into the vast storage pit below.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.