slough

or sluff

[ sluhf ]

/ slʌf /

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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.

OTHER WORDS FOR slough

6 molt.

See synonyms for slough on Thesaurus.com

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have

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Origin of slough

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English slough, slugh(e), slouh “skin of a snake”; cognate with Low German sluwe, slu “husk, peel,” German Schlauch “skin, wineskin, bag”

OTHER WORDS FROM slough

slough·i·ness, nounsloughy, adjectiveun·sloughed, adjectiveun·slough·ing, adjective

Words nearby slough

slotted spoon, slotter, slouch, slouch hat, slouchy, slough, slough off, Slovak, Slovakia, Slovakian, sloven

Other definitions for slough (2 of 2)

slough²

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

/ slaʊ for 1, 2, 4; slu for 3 /

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.

Origin of slough

First recorded before 900; Middle English slough(e), slouh(e) “muddy place, mud hole,” Old English slōh, slōg; cognate with Middle Low German slōch, Middle High German sluoche “ditch”; further origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use slough in a sentence

A few years after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, it’s still strictly segregated between Catholics and Protestants and stuck in an economic slough so old it’s covered in mold.
Make room for ‘Big Girl, Small Town’|Ron Charles|December 2, 2020|Washington Post
We lived on the Old West Side near Lake Sacajawea, which was nothing more than a dredged-out slough full of carp and muskrat.
There’s Always Some Killing You Got to Do On a Farm|Eugene Robinson|October 23, 2020|Ozy
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
He forces a patient to submit to radiation therapy, even as it makes her skin slough off her body.
American Dreams, 1993: The Road to Wellville by T. Coraghessan Boyle|Nathaniel Rich|October 30, 2013|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
They would get weird diseases where the flesh on their faces would slough off.
Raiders of the Lost City|The Daily Beast|February 24, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He began to be afraid lest he might be overwhelmed in this slough of a petty, useless, and vicious existence.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
Because he had sunk into the slough of despond, he would be heedless of the mud that gathered on his garments.
Julian Home|Dean Frederic W. Farrar
"It sounds pretty bad," admitted Heavy, coming out of her momentary slough of despond.
Ruth Fielding At College|Alice B. Emerson
She had taken us up in her great strong arms and carried us over the slough of difficulty, turning the whole tide in our favor.
The Boys of '61|Charles Carleton Coffin.
The most subtly painted serpent casts ultimately its slough.
Sinister Street, vol. 1|Compton Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for slough (1 of 3)

slough¹

/ (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 forms of slough

sloughy, 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)

slough²

/ (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 forms of slough

sloughy, 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

Medical definitions for slough

slough

[ slŭf ]

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

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

Scientific 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

or sluff

OTHER WORDS FOR slough

Origin of slough

OTHER WORDS FROM slough

Words nearby slough

Other definitions for slough (2 of 2)

Origin of slough

Words related to slough

How to use slough in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for slough (1 of 3)

Derived forms of slough

Word Origin for slough

British Dictionary definitions for slough (2 of 3)

Derived forms of slough

Word Origin for slough

British Dictionary definitions for slough (3 of 3)

Medical definitions for slough

Scientific definitions for slough