Word for the day: slope

slope |sləʊp|                                                                     *cuesta (en Español)


DEFINITION

noun1 a surface of which one end or side is at a higher level than another; a rising or falling surface: he slithered helplessly down the slope.• a difference in level or sideways position between the two ends or sides of a thing: the roof should have a slope sufficient for proper drainage | [ mass noun ] : the backward slope of the chair.• (often slopes) a part of the side of a hill or mountain, especially as a place for skiing: a ten-minute cable car ride delivers you to the slopes.• the gradient of a graph at any point.• Electronics the mutual conductance of a valve, numerically equal to the gradient of one of the characteristic curves of the valve.2 US informal, offensive a person from East Asia, especially Vietnam.

verb1 [ no obj. ] (of a surface or line) be inclined from a horizontal or vertical line; slant up or down: the gardensloped down to a stream | the ceiling sloped.• [ with obj. ] place or arrange in such a position or inclination: Poole sloped his shoulders | (as adj.sloped): a sloped leather writing surface.2 [ no obj., with adverbial of direction ] Brit. informal move in an idle or aimless manner: I had seen Don sloping about the beach.• (slope off) leave unobtrusively, typically in order to evade work or duty: the men sloped off looking ashamed of themselves.
PHRASES
at the slope Military (of a rifle) held with the barrel on the left shoulder and the butt in the left hand.slope arms Military hold a rifle at the slope.
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (as a verb): from the obsolete adverb slope, a shortening of aslope. The use of the verb with reference to aimless or unobtrusive movement may be related to lope.

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