slot

[slot]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slot ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.Compare filler(def 9).

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.Compare rim(def 7).

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(def 1).

Aeronautics. See under slat¹(def 2).

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), slot·ted, slot·ting.

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), slot·ted, slot·ting.

to fit or be placed in a slot.

Origin of slot

1300–50; Middle English: the hollow of the breastbone < Middle French esclot < ?

Related formsun·slot·ted, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for slotting

reveal, express, pinpoint, show, suggest, signal, hint, mark, prove, imply, argue, announce, demonstrate, illustrate, make, specify, mean, appoint, elect, nominate

Examples from the Web for slotting

Contemporary Examples of slotting

Two and a Half Men will move from Mondays to Thursdays this fall, slotting in at 8:30 p.m. behind The Big Bang Theory.
TV Upfronts 2012: NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, and the CW Announce Schedules
Jace Lacob, Maria Elena Fernandez
May 17, 2012

Historical Examples of slotting

A similar and perhaps a better result may be obtained by slotting the hole through the nut as though for the reception of a key.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 433, April 19, 1884
Various
It may be too small now; there is not enough metal to clean up under the tools of the slotting- or shaping-machine.
Life in a Railway Factory
Alfred Williams
It is very useful for slotting sheet brass and tubes, slotting small shafts, nicking screws, etc.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 312, December 24, 1881
Various

British Dictionary definitions for slotting

slot

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 slots, slotting or slotted

(tr) to furnish with a slot or slots

(usually foll by in or into) to fit or adjust in a slot

informal to situate or be situated in a series or scheme

Derived Formsslotter, noun

Word Origin for slot

C13: from Old French esclot the depression of the breastbone, of unknown origin

slot

noun

the trail of an animal, esp a deer

Word Origin for slot

C16: from Old French esclot horse's hoof-print, probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse sloth track; see sleuth

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

Word Origin and History for slotting

slot

n.1

late 14c., "hollow at the base of the throat above the breastbone," from Old French esclot "hoofprint of a deer or horse," of uncertain origin, probably from Old Norse sloð "trail" (see sleuth). Original sense is rare or obsolete in Modern English; sense of "narrow opening into which something else can be fitted" is first recorded 1520s. Meaning "middle of the (semi-circular) copy desk at a newspaper," the spot occupied by the chief sub-editor, is recorded from 1917. The sense of "opening in a machine for a coin to be inserted" is from 1888 (slot machine first attested 1891). The sense of "position in a list" is first recorded 1942; verb sense of "designate, appoint" is from 1960s. Slot car first attested 1966.

slot

n.2

"bar or bolt used to fasten a door, window, etc.," c.1300, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German slot (cf. Old Norse slot, Old High German sloz, German Schloss "bolt, bar, lock, castle;" Old Saxon slutil "key," Dutch slot "a bolt, lock, castle"), from Proto-Germanic stem *slut- "to close" (cf. Old Frisian sluta, Dutch sluiten, Old High German sliozan, German schliessen "to shut, close, bolt, lock"), from PIE root *klau- "hook, peg" (cf. Greek kleis "key;" Latin claudere "to shut, close," clavis "key," clavus "nail;" see close (v.)). Wooden pegs seem to have been the original keys.

slot

v.2

1560s, "to bolt a door," from slot (n.2). Related: Slotted; slotting.

slot

v.1

1747, "provide with a slot, cut slots in," from slot (n.1). Meaning "drop a coin in a slot" is from 1888. Sense of "take a position in a slot" is from 1940; that of "fit (something) into a slot" is from 1966. Oldest sense is obsolete: "stab in the base of the throat" (c.1400). Related: Slotted; slotting.