slope

American  

[slohp] / sloʊp /

verb (used without object)

• slopes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sloped,
  past participle,  past
• sloping
  present participle

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.

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verb (used with object)

• slopes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sloped,
  past participle,  past
• sloping
  present participle

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

• slopes
  plural

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.

idioms

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

slope British  

/ 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 )

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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.

Usage

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.

Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• slopes
  plural

Participles

• sloping
  present
• sloped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• slope
  simple
• slopes
  simple
• have sloped
  perfect
• has sloped
  perfect
• am sloping
  progressive
• are sloping
  progressive
• is sloping
  progressive
• have been sloping
  perfect progressive
• has been sloping
  perfect progressive

Past

• sloped
  simple
• had sloped
  perfect
• was sloping
  progressive
• were sloping
  progressive
• had been sloping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will slope
  simple
• will have sloped
  perfect
• will be sloping
  progressive
• will have been sloping
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of slope

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

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Explanation

If you find yourself on a slippery slope, watch out: you could be sliding down a hill. Land that is not level is called a slope. Slope can also be a verb, as in land that slopes down to sea level. Language experts believe the word slope came from the Middle English word aslope, an adverb that means “at an angle.” The word has a noun form you can use for something that is at an angle — on a slope — like a steep hill or the ramp in a parking garage. It also has a verb form that can be used to describe something that slants, like someone's signature with letters that slope to the left or an angled haircut that slopes to cover one eye.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slope slopes sloped sloping

Aerial footage showed a crack on a slope between the ocean and the highway’s southbound lane in Laguna Beach.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

A steeper slope would allow the Singapore dollar to appreciate faster, helping limit the cost of imports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

A steep slope makes water move quickly, while a shallow slope produces slower flow.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

Lo, the downward slope of 2026—already, by this writing, a record year in value for IPOs and mergers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

As he heaved himself up the slope, the thunder of many hooves drew nearer.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Papatsanis used ultrviolet light to illuminate mushrooms known as "beautiful bonnets" growing from a decaying log on the lower slopes of Mount Olympus in Greece.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

ITHACA, N.Y.—On a drizzly Thursday, Cornell University students wandered into consulting recruitment sessions, hustled up the slopes to midterms and listened to a Pulitzer-winning fiction writer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Researchers at the University of Montpellier's Laboratory of Geography and Land Planning have developed evacuation routes that account for slopes, obstacles, walking speeds, and potential bottlenecks.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Wetlands, steep slopes, flood zones, contaminated soil, or any other number of issues could prevent this new home from meeting local standards.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

“Now, there’s one you’ve never seen before!” said the Match-Man proudly, pointing to a painting of a mountain covered with snow and its slopes simply littered with grasshoppers sitting on gigantic roses.

From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers

Aerial images of the dwelling reveal that much of the land has been elegantly manicured, with a sloped driveway leading to the main entrance of the property.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

At peak times on Saturday, just before sunset, the narrow two-way street to Duryea’s is filled with cars as high-heeled and preppy patrons walk along the sloped grassy shoulder of the road.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Take a sunset walk along the gently sloped, flower-scented streets above busy Sunset Boulevard in Brentwood — you will be immersed in a stillness broken only by birds chirping in the treetops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2025

And the head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, said that their own agents weren’t on that roof because it was sloped and therefore dangerous, which is a strange response.

From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2024

I noticed the way the roofs all sloped at the same angle on one street, then shifted to a different angle on the next.

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon

From that restaurant Cardoso could look out the window and see sloping hills and Lucas’ Wagyu cows raised there on the farm.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962, the terminal has a dramatic, glass-walled facade with a sloping roofline that recalls a wingspan.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

That is the term structures of the VIX futures and of the Cboe volatility indexes are sloping strongly upwards.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

They added a sloping roof with a southern exposure where they will install solar panels for future buyers who want to charge electric cars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

A cutting had been made, at some distance from the Hedge, and went sloping gently down into the ground.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

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