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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

When Clay Travis and Buck Sexton took over Rush Limbaugh’s radio slot in 2021 following Limbaugh’s death, it was hard to imagine that anyone could fill the conservative firebrand’s shoes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Singer Jorja Smith brought Kyla out on stage during her headline slot at All Points East festival in London last month to perform the track together.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Steffi Cao argues that as gambling becomes a load-bearing pillar of the economy, trading cards are “basically the closest thing you could get to a sparkly cartoon slot machine.”

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

“Raging killer currents will be possible in side canyons and narrow slot canyons. Low-water crossings may be flooded.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

She stuffs the “fossil” in through the mail slot.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Tarling’s brother, Josh, started the Vuelta, finishing third in the opening stage, two slots behind Pogacar, before dropping out a few days later.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

Atkinson slots in just below Tongue and Archer, who joked he could play until he is 40 given how his team-mates are sharing the load.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

Plus: More companies look to sell tariff-refund rights; Panama Canal limits transit slots as powerful El Niño looms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Tickets for the Paralympics will also go on sale in 2027, beginning with a lottery for assigned time slots, similar to the first Olympic ticket drops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

A few hours later, the remaining slots on the Scoreboard began to fill up, one after another, in rapid succession.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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

In the past, studios have plucked influencers from their online niche and slotted them into whatever mainstream production needed a face.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The ecosystem does not wait for evidence; it constructs a narrative framework into which evidence, if it ever appears, can be slotted later.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 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

Maradona later scored what became known as the 'goal of the century' in the same game, dribbling past five England outfield players before slotting the ball past Shilton.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

There was mayhem at the packed gathering of fans on 17 June, when Argentina star Lionel Messi scored his first 2026 Fifa World Cup goal by coolly slotting the ball past the Algerian goalkeeper.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

It’s an admirable acknowledgement of those behind the scenes, slotting film reels into the Dryden’s 75-year-old projectors, summoning shimmering worlds before our eyes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

I wasn’t interested in slotting myself into a passive role, waiting for Barack’s team to give me direction.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

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