slope

[ slohp ]

/ sloʊp /

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See synonyms for: slope / slopes / sloping on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), sloped, slop·ing.

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

to move at an inclination or obliquely: They sloped gradually westward.

verb (used with object), sloped, slop·ing.

to direct at a slant or inclination; incline from the horizontal or vertical: The sun sloped its beams.

to form with a slope or slant: to slope an embankment.

noun

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

inclination or slant, especially downward or upward.

deviation from the horizontal or vertical.

an inclined surface.

Usually slopes. hills, especially foothills or bluffs: the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Mathematics.

the tangent of the angle between a given straight line and the x-axis of a system of Cartesian coordinates.
the derivative of the function whose graph is a given curve evaluated at a designated point.

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.

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Idioms about slope

slope off, Chiefly British Slang. to make one's way out slowly or furtively.

Origin of slope

First recorded in 1495–1505; aphetic variant of aslope; akin to slip¹

synonym study for slope

1. 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.

usage note for slope

See slant-eyed.

OTHER WORDS FROM slope

slop·ing·ly, adverbslop·ing·ness, nounun·sloped, adjectiveun·slop·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use slope in a sentence

According to a press release issued by the local police station, Huser probably lost her footing while trying to cross a stream on a slope beneath the Alpin Express gondola and fell an estimated 450 feet.
Trail Runner Andrea Huser Dies After Fall in the Alps|Martin Fritz Huber|December 3, 2020|Outside Online
Investigators believe the shooting happened in the 5700 of Southern Avenue, a hilly slope of a residential area near the intersection of Central Avenue.
Toddler fatally shot while riding in a car in SE Washington, police said.|Clarence Williams|December 3, 2020|Washington Post
It’s a $5 billion, 3 million-square-foot shopping and entertainment complex in East Rutherford featuring an indoor ski slope, an ice-skating rink, and a Nickelodeon-branded amusement park.
The death of the department store and the American middle class|Jason Del Rey|November 30, 2020|Vox
If you want to rip fresh corduroy on a bike, Colorado’s Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association grooms 22 miles of slopes and the Crested Butte Nordic Center has six miles of trails on local easements for fat biking.
15 Ways to Play in the Snow This Year|Megan Michelson|November 26, 2020|Outside Online

Also, many resorts allow uphill traffic outside of normal lift operating hours, so you can avoid crowded slopes and squeeze in a lap or two before or after your workday.
15 Ways to Play in the Snow This Year|Megan Michelson|November 26, 2020|Outside Online
Fleshy breasts taunted him from low bikini tops, and fleshy thighs sloped from bikini bottoms.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The low mountains sloped up easily from the dirt and the Columbia River rolled in and out of site to the north of the highway.
At the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a Steady Drip of Toxic Trouble|Eric Nusbaum|February 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
None of his detractors or supporters will have sloped across to the other side because of the contents of this book.
The War Over Blair’s Memoir|Peter Hoskin|September 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He was a narrow-headed man with frail-looking sloped shoulders and a thin triangle of face.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
It sloped inward and downward into a wider opening that was almost like a small chamber in its dimensions.
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
The house was situated upon a hill that sloped gradually down to the shore of a lake.
The value of a praying mother|Isabel C. Byrum
Wooded hills sloped up from the station, while westward was a vast panorama of hill and dale.
The Everlasting Arms|Joseph Hocking
A 86 porch had been added to the cabin and the roof sloped away from the window where she stood.
The Adventure Girls at K Bar O|Clair Blank

British Dictionary definitions for slope

slope

/ (sləʊp) /

verb

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

(intr) (esp of natural features) to follow an inclined coursemany paths sloped down the hillside

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

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

noun

an inclined portion of ground

(plural) hills or foothills

any inclined surface or line

the degree or amount of such inclination

maths

(of a line) the tangent of the angle between the line and another line parallel to the x- axis
the first derivative of the equation of a curve at a given point

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

US slang, derogatory a person from Southeast Asia, especially a Vietnamese

Derived forms of slope

sloper, nounsloping, adjectiveslopingly, adverbslopingness, noun

Word Origin for slope

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

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

slope

Idioms about slope

Origin of slope

synonym study for slope

usage note for slope

OTHER WORDS FROM slope

Words related to slope

How to use slope in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for slope

Derived forms of slope

Word Origin for slope