slot

¹ American  

[slot] / slɒt /

noun

1. a narrow, elongated depression, groove, notch, slit, or aperture, especially a narrow opening for receiving or admitting something, as a coin or a letter.

2. a place or position, as in a sequence or series.

   The program received a new time slot on the broadcasting schedule.

3. Linguistics. (especially in tagmemics) a position having a specific grammatical function within a construction into which any one of a set of morphemes or morpheme sequences can be fit.

4. an assignment or job opening; position.

   I applied for the slot in management training.

5. Journalism.

   1. the interior opening in a copy desk, occupied by the chief copy editor.

   2. the job or position of chief copy editor.

      He had the slot at the Gazette for 20 years.

6. an allocated, scheduled time and place for an aircraft to take off or land, as authorized by an airport or air-traffic authority.

   40 more slots for the new airline at U.S. airports.

7. Informal. slot machine.

8. Aeronautics. slat12

9. Ornithology. a narrow notch or other similar opening between the tips of the primaries of certain birds, which during flight helps to maintain a smooth flow of air over the wings.

10. Ice Hockey. an unmarked area near the front of an opponent's goal that affords a vantage for an attacking player.

11. Computers. expansion slot.

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verb (used with object)

• slots,
  present (3rd person singular)
• slotted,
  past participle,  past
• slotting
  present participle

1. to provide with a slot or slots; make a slot in.

2. to place or fit into a slot.

   We've slotted his appointment for four o'clock.

verb (used without object)

• slots,
  present (3rd person singular)
• slotted,
  past participle,  past
• slotting
  present participle

1. to fit or be placed in a slot.

slot ² American  

[slot] / slɒt /

noun

1. the track or trail of a deer or other animal, as shown by the marks of the feet.

2. a track, trace, or trail of something.

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slot ¹ British  

/ slɒt /

noun

1. an elongated aperture or groove, such as one in a vending machine for inserting a coin

2. an air passage in an aerofoil to direct air from the lower to the upper surface, esp the gap formed behind a slat

3. a vertical opening between the leech of a foresail and a mast or the luff of another sail through which air spills from one against the other to impart forward motion

4. informal a place in a series or scheme

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verb

1. (tr) to furnish with a slot or slots

2. to fit or adjust in a slot

3. informal to situate or be situated in a series or scheme

slot ² British  

/ slɒt /

noun

1. the trail of an animal, esp a deer

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• slotter
  noun
• unslotted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• slotting
  present
• slotted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• slot
  simple
• slots
  simple
• have slotted
  perfect
• has slotted
  perfect
• am slotting
  progressive
• are slotting
  progressive
• is slotting
  progressive
• have been slotting
  perfect progressive
• has been slotting
  perfect progressive

Past

• slotted
  simple
• had slotted
  perfect
• was slotting
  progressive
• were slotting
  progressive
• had been slotting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will slot
  simple
• will have slotted
  perfect
• will be slotting
  progressive
• will have been slotting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of slot¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: “hollow at the base of the throat above the breastbone,” from Old French esclot; further origin unclear

Origin of slot²

First recorded in 1565–75; from Anglo-French, Old French esclot “the hoofprint of a horse,” probably from Old Norse slōth “track, trail”; see also sleuthhound

Explanation

A thin opening or groove in something is a slot. You can put letters and postcards through the mail slot at the post office. A gum ball machine has a slot for inserting a coin, and some front doors have a special slot for mail carriers to put mail in. A screwdriver fits neatly into the slot on top of a screw. Another kind of slot is a space in a schedule or calendar: "I have a half-hour slot on Thursday for our meeting." In the 14th century, a slot was "the hollow above the breastbone."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

slot slots slotted slotting

Musk, worth a cool $1 trillion according to Forbes, would slot in at number 23 — just behind Poland, at $1.04 trillion, and ahead of Taiwan, at $920 billion.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Angela Scanlon is to take over BBC Radio 2's drivetime show after Sara Cox moved to the breakfast slot.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

With “To Catch a Predator” already a hit, NBC execs decide to move the show to a primetime slot to capitalize on its success.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

Mr. Fiennes doesn’t slot his writers into self-contained chapters, but holds “a rolling conversation” between himself and his subjects as he goes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Vonetta ran to her room, got the mummy jar, and pushed the five-dollar bill down the slot.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Three of the nine citizen slots on the Board of Regents are vacant, and three more will be next month.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

Known as Porchfests, this trend involves a community-driven effort to organize and schedule a day of live performances in a residential area, with musicians of all skill levels and genres performing in assigned time slots.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

In addition, a few slots are held back to be auctioned off for near-term use, providing flexibility for shippers facing urgent needs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

For the first time, country songs claimed the top five slots on the Hot 100.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

Maybe it will remain entirely random until the very last piece slots into place, when everything becomes beautifully obvious.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

Garcia-Leys said the plates could not be “used for a crime” or any other purpose unless they were slotted into a vest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Fewer than 60 petitions annually get slotted for oral arguments and full review.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

Luz Mary Gonzalez, a teacher, sat on the ground with a dozen more volunteers, writing messages of solidarity to be slotted into donation boxes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

To be fair to Maradona, he then scored probably the greatest World Cup goal of all time as he dribbled through half the England team, rounded Shilton and slotted home to double Argentina's lead.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

She slotted it into the side of one of the bass, but she went too deep.

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez

Newman said that slotting the lieutenant governor into the role of governor in the event of a recall would follow a precedent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

“I see him slotting into relief and being a two-or-three-inning guy,” Roberts said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Paul went on his podcast armed with a whiteboard, slotting James into various imaginary lineups around the NBA—Minnesota, Denver, and Philadelphia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Meanwhile, Semenyo starred for Bournemouth before slotting in seamlessly to the Manchester City attack following his move to Pep Guardiola's side in January, while Igor Thiago has shone up front for Brentford.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026

A little apart from them, an old woman was heading arrows: slotting needle-fine flakes of flint into the shafts, then gluing them in place with a paste of pine.blood and beeswax.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Related Words

• channel
• groove
• hole
• niche
• position
• space
• vacancy