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definitions

slate

1
[sleyt]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slate ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used with object), slat·ed, slat·ing.

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RELATED WORDS

ballot, roster, record, register, tablet, schedule

Idioms

    clean slate, an unsullied record; a record marked by creditable conduct: to start over with a clean slate.

Origin of slate

1
1300–50; Middle English sclate < Middle French esclate, feminine of esclat piece split off; see slat1

slate

2
[sleyt]

verb (used with object), slat·ed, slat·ing. British.

to sic or set a dog on (a person or animal).

Origin of slate

2
1300–50; Middle English slayten < Old Norse *sleita; cognate with Old English slǣtan
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for slate

Contemporary Examples of slate

Historical Examples of slate

  • Throwing my slate on deck in a high passion, I left the ship and went ashore.

    Ned Myers

    James Fenimore Cooper

  • They stood at the desk, teacher and scholar, Howard bending over his slate.

  • Tip was back by the kitchen window now, with his slate and book.

  • The Ma was at least half the size of the slate, while Heman was microscopic; but, alas!

    Meadow Grass

    Alice Brown

  • It is just as impossible to generalize granite and slate, as it is to generalize a man and a cow.

British Dictionary definitions for slate

slate

1

noun

  1. a compact fine-grained metamorphic rock formed by the effects of heat and pressure on shale. It can be split into thin layers along natural cleavage planes and is used as a roofing and paving material
  2. (as modifier)a slate tile
a roofing tile of slate
(formerly) a writing tablet of slate
a dark grey colour, often with a purplish or bluish tinge
mainly US and Canadian a list of candidates in an election
films
  1. the reference information written on a clapperboard
  2. informalthe clapperboard itself
clean slate a record without dishonour
have a slate loose British and Irish informal to be eccentric or crazy
on the slate British informal on credit
wipe the slate clean informal to make a fresh start, esp by forgetting past differences

verb (tr)

to cover (a roof) with slates
mainly US to enter (a person's name) on a list, esp on a political slate
  1. to choose or destinehe was slated to go far
  2. to plan or schedulethe trial is slated to begin in three weeks

adjective

of the colour slate

Word Origin for slate

C14: from Old French esclate, from esclat a fragment; see slat 1

slate

2

verb (tr) informal, mainly British

to criticize harshly; censure
to punish or defeat severely

Word Origin for slate

C19: probably from slate 1
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
Word Origin and History for slate
n.

mid-14c., from Old French esclate, fem. of esclat "split piece, splinter" (Modern French éclat; see slat), so called because the rock splits easily into thin plates. As an adjective, 1510s. As a color, first recorded 1813. Sense of "a writing tablet" (made of slate), first recorded late 14c., led to that of "list of preliminary candidates prepared by party managers," first recorded 1842, from notion of being easily altered or erased. Clean slate (1856) is an image from customer accounts chalked up in a tavern.

v.

1520s, "to cover with slates" (earlier sclatten, late 15c.), from slate (n.). Meaning "propose, schedule" is from 1883; earlier "to nominate" (1804); the notion is of writing on a slate board. Related: Slated; slating.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for slate

slate

[slāt]

A fine-grained metamorphic rock that forms when shale undergoes metamorphosis. Slate splits into thin layers with smooth surfaces. It ranges in color from gray to black or from red to green, depending on the minerals contained in the shale from which it formed.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with slate

slate

In addition to the idiom beginning with slate

  • slated for, be

also see:

  • clean slate
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.