slot
1 Americannoun
-
a narrow, elongated depression, groove, notch, slit, or aperture, especially a narrow opening for receiving or admitting something, as a coin or a letter.
-
a place or position, as in a sequence or series.
The program received a new time slot on the broadcasting schedule.
-
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.
-
an assignment or job opening; position.
I applied for the slot in management training.
-
Journalism.
-
the interior opening in a copy desk, occupied by the chief copy editor.
-
the job or position of chief copy editor.
He had the slot at the Gazette for 20 years.
-
-
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.
-
Informal. slot machine.
-
Aeronautics. slat12
-
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.
-
Ice Hockey. an unmarked area near the front of an opponent's goal that affords a vantage for an attacking player.
-
Computers. expansion slot.
verb (used with object)
-
to provide with a slot or slots; make a slot in.
-
to place or fit into a slot.
We've slotted his appointment for four o'clock.
verb (used without object)
noun
-
the track or trail of a deer or other animal, as shown by the marks of the feet.
-
a track, trace, or trail of something.
noun
-
an elongated aperture or groove, such as one in a vending machine for inserting a coin
-
an air passage in an aerofoil to direct air from the lower to the upper surface, esp the gap formed behind a slat
-
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
-
informal a place in a series or scheme
verb
-
(tr) to furnish with a slot or slots
-
to fit or adjust in a slot
-
informal to situate or be situated in a series or scheme
noun
Other Word Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing slot
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.
Still, I’m holding out hope that a very different HBO series — Julian Fellowes’ opulent period soap ‘The Gilded Age’ — lands in that eighth slot for its excellent third season.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Instead, it will exit the late-night game altogether, with plans to lease the 11:30 time slot to the syndicated show “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.”
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
His weekly phone-in slot with Mike Sweeney on BBC Radio Manchester isn't going ahead this morning, which is rare.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
"The Fast and the Furious" will be screened in a midnight slot later in the day, bringing some Hollywood razzle-dazzle to Cannes where US studios are notably absent.
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
The $64,000 Question was so popular that even President Eisenhower watched it every week, telling his staff not to disturb him during its time slot.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
