slot

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
a
: a narrow opening or groove : slit, notch
a mail slot in a door
b
: a narrow passage or enclosure
c
: a passage through the wing of an airplane or of a missile that is located usually near the leading edge and formed between a main and an auxiliary airfoil for improving flow conditions over the wing so as to increase lift and delay stalling of the wing
d
: the area on a hockey rink in front of the crease and between the face-off circles
2
: a place or position in an organization, arrangement, or sequence : niche, spot
3
: slot machine sense 2
usually used in plural
4
: a gap between an end and a tackle in an offensive football line

slot

2 of 3

verb

slotted; slotting

transitive verb

1
: to cut a slot in
2
: to place in or assign to a slot

intransitive verb

: to fit easily
her ideas slot neatly into the theory

slot

3 of 3

noun (2)

plural slot
: the track of an animal (such as a deer)

Examples of slot in a Sentence

Verb He slotted the piece of wood into the groove. Her ideas slot neatly into the theory.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
At the time, Bennett was 85, and the song sat at the No. 87 slot for a week beginning Oct. 1, 2011. Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 20 Mar. 2024 In the industry’s DJ Mag Top 100 Poll, since 2012, current CAA clients have 37 Top 10 placements, including three of the last four No. 1 slot holders and three of the top five DJs in 2022. Thania Garcia, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024 The glass front door opened onto an empty foyer that glowed red; past that was another door, outfitted with a speakeasy-style window the size of a mail slot, for a bouncer to peer through. Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 The wallet has three individual card slots, a cash pocket, and a transparent inner window to display your ID. Becca Blond, Travel + Leisure, 17 Mar. 2024 And while almost all of the students who apply to be Howard undergraduates are Black, because there are so few medical-school slots available, most applicants to Howard’s medical school are not. Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 Our songs, albums, artists, and company have seen the top slots of nearly every chart in our format. Melinda Newman, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2024 Your choices are 18 red spaces, 18 black spaces, and a green zero; American versions also have a 00 slot. Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Abada will occupy a Young Designated Player slot on Charlotte’s roster. Steve Lyttle, Charlotte Observer, 8 Mar. 2024
Verb
Marsh now slots into KC’s rotation alongside Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo and Brady Singer. Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024 Most of the seeds are in the double digits, and two teams are slotted for the First Four (Boise State and Colorado State). Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024 Briefly Jonas Brodin played for the first time since returning from the break with an illness, slotting into the blue line with Zach Bogosian. John Shipley, Twin Cities, 9 Feb. 2024 The top four teams will be slotted into the most advantageous locations, with the top seed getting the most preference. Ralph D. Russo and Stephen Hawkins, USA TODAY, 21 Feb. 2024 This simple shirt has quickly gained popularity at Amazon as a new release and is made with a stretchy elastane and polyester material that’s available in five neutral colors to slot into any traveler's wardrobe. Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 6 Feb. 2024 Had his images instead been slotted into a lineage of photojournalistic documentation of the British working class, like the work of, say, Chris Killip, the story might have been different. Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 29 Feb. 2024 The domain did not seem as lucrative as .tv — which was slotted to Tuvalu, another South Pacific nation — and the leaders of Niue (pronounced New-ay) signed off on the deal. Jacob Judah, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 Because of his age, he could be slotted as one of Inter Miami’s three Under-22 Initiative players, replacing fellow Argentine Facundo Farias, who is expected to miss the 2024 season after sustaining a torn ACL during the team’s first preseason game at El Salvador. Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, the hollow at the base of the throat above the breastbone, from Anglo-French esclot hoofprint, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle High German slag blow, hoofprint; probably from its resemblance to a hoofprint — more at schlock

Noun (2)

Middle French esclot track

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1523, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1747, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1575, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of slot was in 1523

Dictionary Entries Near slot

Cite this Entry

“Slot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slot. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

slot

1 of 2 noun
: a long narrow opening, groove, or passage : slit, notch

slot

2 of 2 verb
slotted; slotting
: to cut a slot in

More from Merriam-Webster on slot

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