SLOPE

gradient, slope

(noun) the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal; “a five-degree gradient”

slope, incline, side

(noun) an elevated geological formation; “he climbed the steep slope”; “the house was built on the side of a mountain”

slope, incline, pitch

(verb) be at an angle; “The terrain sloped down”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

slope (countable and uncountable, plural slopes)

An area of ground that tends evenly upward or downward.

The degree to which a surface tends upward or downward.

(mathematics) The ratio of the vertical and horizontal distances between two points on a line; zero if the line is horizontal, undefined if it is vertical.

(mathematics) The slope of the line tangent to a curve at a given point.

The angle a roof surface makes with the horizontal, expressed as a ratio of the units of vertical rise to the units of horizontal length (sometimes referred to as run).

(vulgar, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Chinese or other East Asian descent.

Synonyms

• (area of ground that tends evenly upward or downward): bank, embankment, gradient, hill, incline

• (degree to which a surface tends upward or downward): gradient

• (mathematics): first derivative, gradient

• (offensive: Chinese person): Chinaman, Chink

Verb

slope (third-person singular simple present slopes, present participle sloping, simple past and past participle sloped)

(intransitive) To tend steadily upward or downward.

(transitive) To form with a slope; to give an oblique or slanting direction to; to incline or slant.

(colloquial, usually, followed by a preposition) To try to move surreptitiously.

(military) To hold a rifle at a slope with forearm perpendicular to the body in front holding the butt, the rifle resting on the shoulder.

Adjective

slope (comparative more slope, superlative most slope)

(obsolete) Sloping.

Adverb

slope (comparative more slope, superlative most slope)

(obsolete) slopingly

Anagrams

• LEPOs, Poles, S-pole, eslop, lopes, olpes, poles, spole

Source: Wiktionary


Slope, n. Etym: [Formed (like abode fr. abide) from OE. slipen. See Slip, v. i.]

1. An oblique direction; a line or direction including from a horizontal line or direction; also, sometimes, an inclination, as of one line or surface to another.

2. Any ground whose surface forms an angle with the plane of the horizon. buildings the summit and slope of a hill. Macaulay. Under the slopes of Pisgah. Deut. iv. 49. (Rev. Ver.).

Note: A slope, considered as descending, is a declivity; considered as ascending, an acclivity. Slope of a plane (Geom.), the direction of the plane; as, parallel planes have the same slope.

Slope, a.

Definition: Sloping. "Down the slope hills." Milton. A bank not steep, but gently slope. Bacon.

Slope, adv.

Definition: In a sloping manner. [Obs.] Milton.

Slope, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sloped; p. pr. & vb. n. Sloping.]

Definition: To form with a slope; to give an oblique or slanting direction to; to direct obliquely; to incline; to slant; as, to slope the ground in a garden; to slope a piece of cloth in cutting a garment.

Slope, v. i.

1. To take an oblique direction; to be at an angle with the plane of the horizon; to incline; as, the ground slopes.

2. To depart; to disappear suddenly. [Slang]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

18 June 2024

PARADE

(noun) an extended (often showy) succession of persons or things; “a parade of strollers on the mall”; “a parade of witnesses”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the most massive cup of coffee contained 22,739.14 liters and was created by Alcaldía Municipal de Chinchiná (Colombia) at Parque de Bolívar, Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia, on 15 June 2019. Fifty people worked for more than a month to build this giant cup. The drink prepared was Arabic coffee.

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