Etymology From Middle English slot, from Old French esclot, likely from Old Norse slóð (“track”). As a gambling machine, via clipping of slot machine. Compare sleuth. The scheduling (calendar) sense is by a metaphor whereby the time span is equated with the segment of a page or part of a device that represents it.
A narrow depression, perforation, or aperture; especially, one for the reception of a piece fitting or sliding into it.
insert tab A into slot B
2
A period of time or position within a schedule or sequence.
I've booked your haircut for the 2 p.m. slot.
With a strong finish he ended up in the third-ranked slot overall.
3
Gambling, GamesAbbreviation, Clipping, Especially, In plural, Informal Clipping of slot machine (“a game of chance played for money using a coin slot”).
I walked past the poker tables and went straight to the slots.
4
The track of an animal, especially a deer; spoor.
The Huntsman by his slot, or breaking earth, perceaves1612, Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, song 13 p. 216:
Oh joy! the signs of life! the Deer Hath left his slot beside the way; The little Ermine now is seen White wanderer of the snow; […] And hark! the rosy-breasted bird, The Throstle of sweet song!1801, Robert Southey, “(please specify the page)”, in Thalaba the Destroyer, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] [F]or T[homas] N[orton] Longman and O[wen] Rees, […], by Biggs and Cottle, […], →OCLC:
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One is from Hexamshire; he is wont to trace the Tynedale and Teviotdale thieves, as a bloodhound follows the slot of a hurt deer.1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:
But by then Niënor had passed away like a wraith; and neither sight nor slot of her could they find, though they hunted far northward and searched for many days.2007, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Tale of the Children of Húrin, page 212:
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A crack or fissure in a glacier or snowfield; a chasm; a crevasse.
By this time of winter the edge of the ice is rafted up in confused floes, and often reveals slots and fissures quite large enough to hold a young husky prisoner.1963, John Mayston Béchervaise, Blizzard and Fire, page 111:
Brian's crevasse shot also needed additional detail, so we found a small slot on a tiny glacier above the Cove.1991, Stephen Venables, Island at the Edge of the World, page 161:
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A space in memory or on disk etc. in which a particular type of object can be stored.
She'd like him jammed into her slot, like him to crank into her and she didn't think ignition would be far off if he did.2006, Shelby Reed, Madison Hayes, Love a Younger Man, page 165:
Valerie sighed with pleasure as her husband skillfully found her slot and inserted the head of his straining prick inside, then bucked its thick-stemmed length all the way up her sex-channel.2006, Rod Waleman, The Stepdaughters, page 20:
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According to Pro Football Focus, Simmons, listed at 6-foot-4 and 238 pounds, played at least 100 snaps at five positions — slot cornerback, edge rusher, linebacker and both safety spots — and finished with 16½ tackles for a loss, eight sacks, eight pass deflections and three interceptions.2020 April 23, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Apr 2020:
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Journalism, Media The inside of the "rim" or semicircular copy desk, occupied by the supervisor of the copy editors.
The slot is not a glamorous job. It hasn't been discovered by Shubert Alley or the fiction magazines. To the cub reporter, eager for by-lines and self-expression, the whole copy desk looks like a backwater.1940, LIFE, volume 8, number 17, page 111:
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Fishing, Hobbies, Lifestyle A fish that is within regulation size limits and hence can be caught and kept.
Etymology From Middle English slot, from Old French esclot, likely from Old Norse slóð (“track”). As a gambling machine, via clipping of slot machine. Compare sleuth. The scheduling (calendar) sense is by a metaphor whereby the time span is equated with the segment of a page or part of a device that represents it.
To put something (such as a coin) into a slot (narrow aperture).
2
To assign something or someone into a slot (gap in a schedule or sequence).
3
To create a slot (narrow aperture or groove), as for example by cutting or machining.
4
To put something where it belongs.
And Stamford Bridge erupted with joy as Florent Malouda slotted in a cross from Drogba, who had stayed just onside.2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:
One young soldier told me he couldn't bear to shoot the wild game in Rhodesia, but he had no trouble "slotting" floppies. "The more I kill," he said, "the better I feel. They're ruining everything for us."1978 Spring, Collins Reynolds, editor, The Bridge, volume 3, number 1, Center for Research and Education, page 31:
Two males and a female from Northern Ireland had been identified, tracked and 'slotted'.2012, Davy Thompson, Uniforms and Boats, page 59:
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They fired into the air on automatic and I thought, here we go, all I need is for one of these rounds to come down and slot me through the head.2013, Andy McNab, Bravo Two Zero: The 20th Anniversary Edition, page 184:
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To fall, or cause to fall, into a crevasse.
The D-4s being heavy vehicles, were in difficulties with crevasses right from the start. At one stage Wood said cheerfully, "Let's give the game away after we get a D-4 slotted one more time", expecting just to get a track break through over a hole. The next minute his machine with him in it disappeared from sight — the tail and the tip of the blade caught and held a little way down the bottomless hole. Reiffel brought his D-4 around on the ice with the big machine picking its way between slots like a ballet dancer, and after a lot of work with ice axes, the slotted machine was hauled out.1967 June, “Australians' Autumn Journeys Have Perilous Moments”, in Antarctic, volume 4, number 10, New Zealand Antarctic Society, pages 503–504:
I'd have to avoid getting slotted, especially as I didn't know which danger it was, but I thought I could guess.2012, Hazel Edwards, Antarctica's Frozen Chosen:
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Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Rugby, SportsInformal To kick the ball between the posts for a goal; to score a goal by doing this.
Etymology From Middle English slot, from Middle Low German slot or Middle Dutch slot, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *slot, from Proto-Germanic *slutą, related to the verb *sleutaną (“to lock”). Cognate with Dutch slot, German Schloss (“door-bolt”). The verb is probably from Middle Dutch sluten (“to close, to lock”) (Modern Dutch sluiten (“to close”)).
1
A broad, flat, wooden bar, a slat, especially as used to secure a door, window, etc.
2
A metal bolt or wooden bar, especially as a crosspiece.
3
Northern England, Scotland An implement for barring, bolting, locking or securing a door, box, gate, lid, window or the like.
Thou paydst for building of a slot, That wrought thine own decay.1578, Barnabe Rich, Allarme to England:
slot
verb
Etymology From Middle English slot, from Middle Low German slot or Middle Dutch slot, ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *slot, from Proto-Germanic *slutą, related to the verb *sleutaną (“to lock”). Cognate with Dutch slot, German Schloss (“door-bolt”). The verb is probably from Middle Dutch sluten (“to close, to lock”) (Modern Dutch sluiten (“to close”)).