: that slants : sloping
—often used in combination
slope-sided
sloped; sloping
1
: to take an oblique course
2
: to lie or fall in a slant : incline
: to cause to incline or slant
sloper
noun
1
: ground that forms a natural or artificial incline
2
: upward or downward slant or inclination or degree of slant
3
: the part of a continent draining to a particular ocean
Alaska's North Slope
4
a
: the tangent of the angle made by a straight line with the x-axis
b
: the slope of the line tangent to a plane curve at a point
Synonyms
Examples of slope in a Sentence
Verb
His handwriting slopes to the left.
they sloped our new driveway too steeply and now my car scrapes bottom whenever I back out onto the street
Noun
They climbed the steep slope.
What is the angle of the slope?
You can adjust the slope of the ramp.
a slope of 30 degrees
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Recent Examples on the Web
Pilar Guzmán, Travel + Leisure, 19 Mar. 2023
Below, Vogue tracks the most noteworthy openings, from restaurants, to stores, to post-slope hotspots.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2021
In an interview in September, Friedman said that installing a mid-slope retaining wall downhill from the Georges’ building would cost $5 million.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 8 Nov. 2021
Friedman said that the new geotechnical studies show that in order to save the building, the port would have to spend $5 million to install a mid-slope retaining wall.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 9 Sep. 2021
Zoe Denenberg, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2023
Audiences were inserted into the theater via a pneumatic grandstand, after which they were treated to films about man’s relationship to technology on a series of nine geometric screens adhered to the theater’s sloping walls.
—Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023
The driveway slopes down to a private parking area and garage.
—Mark David, Robb Report, 31 Oct. 2023
Set along the heart of the Kona coast, the private Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course here features dramatic ocean views and gently sloping fairways.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 15 Oct. 2023
The path sloped gently downhill through fields with olive groves, cows grazing, and flocks of sheep and goats.
—Nick Romeo, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2023
This denim cutout top has a button at the collar that then slopes down to bare the midriff with a metal hardware charm, and an unexpected waist strap.
—Minna Shim, Harper's BAZAAR, 14 Aug. 2023
Eventually, hundreds of people began to fall on top of each other as waves of revelers pushed up and down the sloping strip of pavement, jostling to go in opposite directions.
—Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2023
Legs have to fight harder on inclines and declines, which can be more sudden and intense than the sloping hills of a city street.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 5 Oct. 2023
Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 30 Nov. 2023
The math department is in Armstrong Hall, which sits on a ledge about halfway up a steep slope leading to the river.
—Oliver Whang, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2023
Level up your gifting game and wrap it filled with a picture from one of their favorite slopes.
—Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 27 Nov. 2023
The venue is southwest of the center of Dubai, a city of many climate contradictions, with indoor ski slopes miles from massive solar parks.
—Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023
When Mallory’s frozen remains were discovered on Everest’s slopes in 1999, Ms. Salkeld was the expert everyone wanted to speak with.
—Adam Nossiter, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2023
This type of landslide -- known as a debris flow -- can occur throughout southeast Alaska where there are steep slopes, according to Alaska Department of Natural Resources geologist Barrett Salisbury.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023
The same well-heeled crowd that spends off-season in Ibiza or lives in Barcelona jet over to Andorra for weekend winter après-ski events and gastronomic pop-ups along the slopes.
—Lane Nieset, Vogue, 14 Nov. 2023
Again, the investigators slogged their way up the steep, sandy slope, methodically planting flags.
—John Riha, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2023
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Adjective
In the Dolomites, the pleasures of post-slope relaxing are simply woven into the culture.
—Pilar Guzmán, Travel + Leisure, 19 Mar. 2023
Below, Vogue tracks the most noteworthy openings, from restaurants, to stores, to post-slope hotspots.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2021
In an interview in September, Friedman said that installing a mid-slope retaining wall downhill from the Georges’ building would cost $5 million.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 8 Nov. 2021
Friedman said that the new geotechnical studies show that in order to save the building, the port would have to spend $5 million to install a mid-slope retaining wall.
—Steven Litt, cleveland, 9 Sep. 2021
Verb
If your dough's thickness is uneven, the cookies' bake times will vary and the surfaces will slope, causing difficulty when piping.
—Zoe Denenberg, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2023
Audiences were inserted into the theater via a pneumatic grandstand, after which they were treated to films about man’s relationship to technology on a series of nine geometric screens adhered to the theater’s sloping walls.
—Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023
The driveway slopes down to a private parking area and garage.
—Mark David, Robb Report, 31 Oct. 2023
Set along the heart of the Kona coast, the private Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course here features dramatic ocean views and gently sloping fairways.
—Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 15 Oct. 2023
The path sloped gently downhill through fields with olive groves, cows grazing, and flocks of sheep and goats.
—Nick Romeo, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2023
This denim cutout top has a button at the collar that then slopes down to bare the midriff with a metal hardware charm, and an unexpected waist strap.
—Minna Shim, Harper's BAZAAR, 14 Aug. 2023
Eventually, hundreds of people began to fall on top of each other as waves of revelers pushed up and down the sloping strip of pavement, jostling to go in opposite directions.
—Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2023
Legs have to fight harder on inclines and declines, which can be more sudden and intense than the sloping hills of a city street.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 5 Oct. 2023
Noun
One of the moose soon gains the upper hand and charges into the broad side of the other moose, forcing it to stumble backwards down a steep slope.
—Sage Marshall, Field & Stream, 30 Nov. 2023
The math department is in Armstrong Hall, which sits on a ledge about halfway up a steep slope leading to the river.
—Oliver Whang, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2023
Level up your gifting game and wrap it filled with a picture from one of their favorite slopes.
—Lydia Price, Travel + Leisure, 27 Nov. 2023
The venue is southwest of the center of Dubai, a city of many climate contradictions, with indoor ski slopes miles from massive solar parks.
—Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023
When Mallory’s frozen remains were discovered on Everest’s slopes in 1999, Ms. Salkeld was the expert everyone wanted to speak with.
—Adam Nossiter, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2023
This type of landslide -- known as a debris flow -- can occur throughout southeast Alaska where there are steep slopes, according to Alaska Department of Natural Resources geologist Barrett Salisbury.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 21 Nov. 2023
The same well-heeled crowd that spends off-season in Ibiza or lives in Barcelona jet over to Andorra for weekend winter après-ski events and gastronomic pop-ups along the slopes.
—Lane Nieset, Vogue, 14 Nov. 2023
Again, the investigators slogged their way up the steep, sandy slope, methodically planting flags.
—John Riha, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slope.' 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
Adjective
Middle English sloop, probably from aslope, adverb, at an angle
First Known Use
Adjective
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1591, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
circa 1568, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of slope was
in the 15th century
Phrases Containing slope
Dictionary Entries Near slope
Cite this Entry
“Slope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slope. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
slope
2 of 3 verb
sloped; sloping
: to take a slanting direction : give a slant to : incline
sloper
noun
slope
3 of 3 noun1
: ground that forms a natural or artificial incline
2
: upward or downward slant or degree of slant
3
: the ratio of the change in a vertical direction to the change in a horizontal direction between any two points on the graph of a straight line
More from Merriam-Webster on slope
Nglish: Translation of slope for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of slope for Arabic Speakers
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