slope

Pluralslopes

Formsslopes, sloping, sloped

1. 1
   nouncountable

   Ground that goes up or down in a steady way.

   Like a ramp you can walk up or down instead of using stairs.

   We walked up the steep slope to reach the top of the hill.

   The grassy slope behind the house is perfect for sledding.

   Similarincline, hill, hillside, rise, bank

   Note
2. 2
   nouncountable or uncountable

   How steep a surface is as it rises or falls.

   Like how a hill can be a little tilted or very steeply tilted.

   The slope of the embankment was too steep for vehicles to climb.

   A shallow slope makes the trail easy for beginners to walk.

   Similargradient, incline, pitch, grade, steepness

3. 3
   verbintransitive

   To go up or down in a steady direction.

   The hills slope down to a wide green valley.

   The ground sloped steeply behind the barn.

   Similarslant, incline, fall, dip, shelve

   Note
4. 4
   verbtransitive

   To make something lean or slant to one side.

   The builders slope the driveway so rain runs off it.

   They sloped the roof to let snow slide off.

   Similarslant, angle, tilt, incline, pitch

   Oppositelevel, flatten

5. 5
   nouncountable

   How steep a line is, found by comparing how far it goes up to how far it goes across.

   Like measuring a hill by how high you climb compared to how far you walk.

   To find the slope, divide how much the line rises by how far it runs.

   A line with a bigger slope climbs more sharply on the graph.

   Similargradient

   Note
6. 6
   nouncountable

   How steeply a roof rises, measured by how much it goes up for each step across.

   Like a slide: the steeper it tilts, the faster things slide off.

   The slope of the roof is steep enough to keep snow from piling up.

   A low slope can let water pool instead of draining away.

   Similarpitch

   Note
7. 7
   nouncountable

   How steep a curve is at one exact point, matching the line that just touches it there.

   Like checking how tilted a road feels at the exact spot you stand, not over the whole hill.

   The slope at the top of the curve is zero, because the curve is flat there for a moment.

   We found the slope at that point by drawing the line that just touches the curve.

   Similargradient

   Note
8. 8
   verbcolloquialUKintransitive

   To try to move somewhere quietly so that other people do not notice you.

   I sloped into class ten minutes late and slid into a seat at the back.

   Every time it's his turn to wash up, my brother tries to slope off upstairs.

   Similarsneak, slip, slink, steal, sidle

   Note
9. 9
   verbtransitive

   To carry a rifle resting on your shoulder, held in a set drill position.

   The soldiers slope their rifles before marching past.

   On command, he sloped his rifle and stood straight.

   Note
10. 10
    nounethnicoffensiveslurvulgarcountable

    A very rude and hurtful word for a person of East Asian descent.

    The other kids cruelly called him a slope, and the teacher punished them for it.

    Nobody should ever call a person a slope.

    Note

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