slough

[ slou for 1, 2, 4; sloo for 3 ]

/ slaʊ for 1, 2, 4; slu for 3 /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slough ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an area of soft, muddy ground; swamp or swamplike region.

a hole full of mire, as in a road.

Also slew, slue. Northern U.S. and Canadian. a marshy or reedy pool, pond, inlet, backwater, or the like.

a condition of degradation, despair, or helplessness.

Nearby words

Origin of slough

before 900; Middle English; Old English slōh; cognate with Middle Low German slōch, Middle High German sluoche ditch

Definition for slough (2 of 2)

slough

or sluff

[ sluhf ]

/ slʌf /

noun

the outer layer of the skin of a snake, which is cast off periodically.

Pathology. a mass or layer of dead tissue separated from the surrounding or underlying tissue.

anything that is shed or cast off.

Cards. a discard.

verb (used without object)

to be or become shed or cast off, as the slough of a snake.

to cast off a slough.

Pathology. to separate from the sound flesh, as a slough.

Cards. to discard a card or cards.

verb (used with object)

to dispose or get rid of; cast (often followed by off): to slough off a bad habit.

to shed as or like a slough.

Cards. to discard (cards).

Verb Phrases

slough over, to treat as slight or trivial: to slough over a friend's mistake.

Origin of slough

1250–1300; Middle English slughe, slouh skin of a snake; cognate with German Schlauch skin, bag

SYNONYMS FOR slough

6 molt.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR slough ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsslough·i·ness, nounslough·y, adjectiveun·sloughed, adjectiveun·slough·ing, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for slough

In Sydney it was across the Harbor, in London it was outside the city in Basildon or Slough.
Speed Reading Michael Lewis’s ‘Flash Boys’|William O’Connor|March 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A week after the inauguration, his wife, Lady Bird, watched with worry as a “slough of despond” surrounded her husband.
The Mad Men Era: When Hope Was Cheap|Jonathan Darman|March 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
You may sail along the river or slough, therefore, for miles, and see only occasional evidences of the embankment.
Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands|Charles Nordhoff
The kitten stalked down to the slough in which Four-Leaf and Clover were making their home.
Swamp Cat|James Arthur Kjelgaard

Hitching those beside the trail, I returned to find Burton seated beside the lame horse, which could not cross the slough.
The Trail of the Goldseekers|Hamlin Garland
In man it continually wears off, in serpents it is shed annually in one slough.
Birds and All Nature, Vol. V, No. 3, March 1899|Various
The slough was quicksand, and as far as Andy knew, it was bottomless.
Swamp Cat|James Arthur Kjelgaard

British Dictionary definitions for slough (1 of 3)

slough

/ (slaʊ) /

noun

a hollow filled with mud; bog

(sluː) US and Canadian

(in the prairies) a large hole where water collects or the water in such a hole
(in the northwest) a sluggish side channel of a river
(on the Pacific coast) a marshy saltwater inlet

despair or degradation

Derived Formssloughy, adjective

Word Origin for slough

Old English slōh; related to Middle High German sluoche ditch, Swedish slaga swamp

British Dictionary definitions for slough (2 of 3)

slough

/ (slʌf) /

noun

any outer covering that is shed, such as the dead outer layer of the skin of a snake, the cellular debris in a wound, etc

Also: sluff bridge a discarded card

verb

(often foll by off) to shed (a skin, etc) or (of a skin, etc) to be shed

Also: sluff bridge to discard (a card or cards)

Derived Formssloughy, adjective

Word Origin for slough

C13: of Germanic origin; compare Middle Low German slū husk, German Schlauch hose, Norwegian slō fleshy part of a horn

British Dictionary definitions for slough (3 of 3)

Slough

/ (slaʊ) /

noun

an industrial town in SE central England, in Slough unitary authority, Berkshire; food products, high-tech industries. Pop: 126 276 (2001)

a unitary authority in SE central England, in Berkshire. Pop: 118 800 (2003 est). Area: 28 sq km (11 sq miles)

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 slough (1 of 3)

slough

n.1

"muddy place," Old English sloh "soft, muddy ground," of uncertain origin. Cf. Middle Low German sloch "muddy place," Middle High German sluoche "ditch." Figurative use (e.g. of moral sunkenness or Bunyan's "Slough of Despond," 1678) attested from mid-13c.

Word Origin and History for slough (1 of 3)

slough

"to cast off" (as the skin of a snake or other animal), 1720, originally of diseased tissue, from Middle English noun slough "shed skin of a snake" (see slough (n.)). Related: Sloughed; sloughing.

Word Origin and History for slough (2 of 3)

slough

n.2

"cast-off skin" (of a snake or other animal), early 14c., slughe, slouh, probably related to Old Saxon sluk "skin of a snake," Middle High German sluch "snakeskin, wineskin," Middle Low German slu "husk, peel, skin," German Schlauch "wineskin;" from Proto-Germanic *sluk-, of uncertain origin, perhaps from PIE root *sleug- "to glide."

Medicine definitions for slough

slough

[ slŭf ]

n.

A layer or mass of dead tissue separated from surrounding living tissue, as in a wound, a sore, or an inflammation.

v.

To separate from surrounding living tissue. Used of dead tissue.

Science definitions for slough

slough

[ slŭf ]

Noun

The dead outer skin shed by a reptile or an amphibian.

Verb

To shed an outer layer of skin.

slough

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of slough

Definition for slough (2 of 2)

slough

or sluff

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Verb Phrases

Origin of slough

Examples from the Web for slough

British Dictionary definitions for slough (1 of 3)

slough

noun

Word Origin for slough

British Dictionary definitions for slough (2 of 3)

slough

noun

verb

Word Origin for slough

British Dictionary definitions for slough (3 of 3)

Slough

noun

Word Origin and History for slough (1 of 3)

slough

Word Origin and History for slough (1 of 3)

slough

Word Origin and History for slough (2 of 3)

slough

Medicine definitions for slough

slough

n.

v.

Science definitions for slough

slough

Noun

Verb