slope

[slohp]

verb (used without object)

sloped, sloping 

1. to have or take an inclined or oblique direction or angle considered with reference to a vertical or horizontal plane; slant.

2. to move at an inclination or obliquely.

   They sloped gradually westward.

verb (used with object)

sloped, sloping 

1. to direct at a slant or inclination; incline from the horizontal or vertical.

   The sun sloped its beams.

2. to form with a slope or slant.

   to slope an embankment.

noun

1. ground that has a natural incline, as the side of a hill.

2. inclination or slant, especially downward or upward.

3. deviation from the horizontal or vertical.

4. an inclined surface.

5. Usually slopes. hills, especially foothills or bluffs.

   the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

6. Mathematics.

   1. the tangent of the angle between a given straight line and the x- axis of a system of Cartesian coordinates.

   2. the derivative of the function whose graph is a given curve evaluated at a designated point.

7. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.,  a contemptuous term used to refer to a person of East Asian origin, especially a Vietnamese or other South Asian.

slope

/ sləʊp /

verb

1. to lie or cause to lie at a slanting or oblique angle

2. (intr) (esp of natural features) to follow an inclined course

   many paths sloped down the hillside

3. (intr; foll by off, away, etc) to go furtively

4. (tr) military (formerly) to hold (a rifle) in the slope position (esp in the command slope arms )

noun

1. an inclined portion of ground

2. (plural) hills or foothills

3. any inclined surface or line

4. the degree or amount of such inclination

5. maths

   1. (of a line) the tangent of the angle between the line and another line parallel to the x- axis

   2. the first derivative of the equation of a curve at a given point

6. (formerly) the position adopted for British military drill when the rifle is rested on the shoulder

7. slang,  a person from Southeast Asia, especially a Vietnamese

Sensitive Note

See slant-eyed.

Other Word Forms

• slopingly adverb
• slopingness noun
• unsloped adjective
• unsloping adjective
• sloper noun
• sloping adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of slope¹

First recorded in 1495–1505; aphetic variant of aslope; akin to slip ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of slope¹

C15: short for aslope, perhaps from the past participle of Old English āslūpan to slip away, from slūpan to slip

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. slope off, to make one's way out slowly or furtively.

Synonym Study

Slope, slant mean to incline away from a relatively straight surface or line used as a reference. To slope is to incline vertically in an oblique direction: The ground slopes ( upward or downward ) sharply here. To slant is to fall to one side, to lie obliquely to some line whether horizontal or perpendicular: The road slants off to the right.

Example Sentences

The crowd lets out a roar that echoes over Brookside’s fairway slopes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Wednesday for some communities near Yosemite National Park and Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, as well as on the Eastern Sierra slopes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Hamilton feared a slippery slope toward rule by the people, not the propertied, threatening the development of capitalism.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The slope of the roof, for instance, reflects the mid-century butterfly roofs scattered throughout the predominantly Chinese neighborhood, while the arc of the terrace references historic courtyard houses and gardens in China.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The anchor dropped off a steep underwater slope and got tangled.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• hill 
• ramp 
• shelf 

When To Use

What does slope mean?

In mathematics, the slope (also called the gradient) of a line is a measurement of how steep the line is or how much of a slant it has.In math, a line is an object with no thickness that extends forever in both directions. In basic math, we assume lines to be perfectly straight, meaning they don’t curve or change directions to form angles.Take a piece of graph paper to create a Cartesian plane by drawing two perpendicular lines. These two lines are called the axes. The axis going sideways is the x-axis, and the axis going up and down is the y-axis. We use these axes to label where any point on the plane is located. You can then measure the slope of a line compared to the x-axis by using the Cartesian coordinates on your Cartesian plane.