A hole in a machine into which one places coins in order to operate it. The machine spits out money when you slot in a dollar. I was able to get the job, but I still haven’t found a time to slot into my schedule.
In computing, a space in memory or on disk in which data can be stored. For example, a computer program may have multiple slots to store different types of information. Each slot can be assigned a different value to identify it to the system. A specialized slot can be used to store passwords, for example.
(slang, informal) A place to play casino games; a gambling establishment. I don’t have much of a budget, so I’ll just go to the penny slots.
In modern gaming machines, the physical reels have been replaced by a screen. In addition to the standard layout, some newer slots allow players to select a specific number of paylines and thus change their odds of winning. Some paylines are free and others require a fixed bet amount.
The word slot is also used to mean a position or place in a game, such as a particular hole in the deck of cards. This use of the word is more common in poker, where the concept of a slot has long been established.
The examples on this page are selected automatically from online sources to illustrate current usage of the word’slot’. They do not represent the views of Merriam-Webster or its editors.