slat
1 Americannoun
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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.
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Aeronautics. a control surface along the leading edge of a wing that can be extended forward to create a gap slot to improve airflow.
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Slang. slats,
verb (used with object)
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
noun
-
a narrow thin strip of wood or metal, as used in a Venetian blind, etc
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a movable or fixed auxiliary aerofoil attached to the leading edge of an aircraft wing to increase lift, esp during landing and takeoff
verb
verb
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(tr) to throw violently; fling carelessly
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(intr) to flap violently
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of slat1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sclat, slat(te “a roofing tile, slate,” from Middle French esclat “splinter, chip”; see origin at éclat
Origin of slat2
First recorded in 1200–50; of obscure origin; possibly from Old Norse sletta “to slap, splash”
Explanation
A slat is a strip of wood or other thin material. The blinds that cover your windows are made up of slats. The horizontal slats in Persian or Venetian blinds are often made of plastic, fabric, or metal, and they can be adjusted to let light in or shut it out completely. Some wooden fences are made of slats as well, and bed frames often have slats that support the mattress placed on top of them. Slat was originally sclat, from the Old French esclat, "split, chip, or piece."
Vocabulary lists containing slat
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Pride
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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.
See Examples For:
We love the island vibe and have added some cherrywood slat doors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
He had the slat fence removed and reconfigured it, turning it into supports for paintings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
California artist Andrew Wharton intriguingly mingles natural and mechanical in a single thing: an eight-foot-long slat that was 3D printed with wood-infused plastic and coated with wood varnish.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023
When I picked up the birdhouse, a nail slipped out and a roof slat fell off.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2021
Her eyes are trained on a gull wiggling a potato chip out from the wood slat bench.
From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko
People of this community manage their flow by situating themselves over a gap in the slatted floors of their homes, free-bleeding onto the lush forest greenery below.
From National Geographic ● Nov. 29, 2023
Although some weather stations are located at airports, temperature readings are taken from thermometers in a Stevenson screen, which is a white slatted box with its door facing north.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2022
For a little extra oomph, take the same slatted headboard concept as seen above but make it rainbow!
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2022
Peering in through the vertical slatted blinds, he could make out Dominic’s bedroom in the darkness, illuminated by the blue glow of the diffuser on his nightstand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2022
I sat down across from him in a slatted wooden chair.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
The second race petered out in a slatting calm.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last week the biggest, most serious maritime strike in U. S. history ran through its second week with all three coasts fretted by waterfront squalls and with peace negotiations slatting dismally in the doldrums.
From Time Magazine Archive
The wind took the Frog backward, but with the sails loose and slatting she moved so slowly that she was effectively still.
From "The Voyage Of The Frog" by Gary Paulsen
Sitting at the table in the darkness, the moonlight slatting into the cabin through the small windows in bars of pale white, he hated himself more than all the rest.
From "The Voyage Of The Frog" by Gary Paulsen
She and Nat went to the window together and watched the rain slatting down in the weed-grown garden.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
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.
