: 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
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
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
Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
That’s especially true of the Princeton museum, a jangling grid of gray concrete boxes set into the sloping campus.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 3 Nov. 2025
Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Nov. 2025
Start early, since most of the route is exposed on south-facing slopes.
—Outside, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slope
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
Verb
The water receded as the land sloped upward on my drive to the old site of Liberty Square, the second segregated housing project in the country built for Black residents.
—Vann R. Newkirk Ii, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2025
That’s especially true of the Princeton museum, a jangling grid of gray concrete boxes set into the sloping campus.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 3 Nov. 2025
Noun
Designed by Schmidt Design Group, the design embraces the site’s natural topography, with a scenic overlook to the canyon at its highest point and a playground that takes advantage of a natural slope with climbing loops, rocks and a slide.
—Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Nov. 2025
Start early, since most of the route is exposed on south-facing slopes.
—Outside, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for slope
Cite this Entry
“Slope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slope. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share