Slope
adj, adv, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Definitions
- 1 An area of ground that tends evenly upward or downward. countable, uncountable
"I had to climb a small slope to get to the site."
- 2 the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal wordnet
- 3 The degree to which a surface tends upward or downward. countable, uncountable
"The road has a very sharp downward slope at that point."
- 4 an elevated geological formation wordnet
- 5 The ratio of the vertical and horizontal distances between two points lying on the line. countable, uncountable
"The slope of this line is 0.5"
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- 6 The slope of the line tangent to the curve at the given point. countable, proscribed, sometimes, uncountable
"The slope of a parabola increases linearly with x."
- 7 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). countable, uncountable
"The slope of an asphalt shingle roof system should be 4:12 or greater."
- 8 A person of Chinese or other East Asian descent. countable, ethnic, offensive, slur, uncountable, vulgar
- 1 To tend steadily upward or downward. intransitive
"The road slopes sharply down at that point."
- 2 be at an angle wordnet
- 3 To form with a slope; to give an oblique or slanting direction to; to incline or slant. transitive
"to slope the ground in a garden; to slope a piece of cloth in cutting a garment"
- 4 To try to move surreptitiously. UK, colloquial, usually
"I sloped in through the back door, hoping my boss wouldn't see me."
- 5 To hold a rifle at a slope with forearm perpendicular to the body in front holding the butt, the rifle resting on the shoulder.
"The order was given to "slope arms"."
- 1 Sloping. obsolete
"A bank not steep, but gently slope."
- 1 slopingly obsolete
"So promis'd he; and Uriel to his charge Return'd on that bright beam , whose point now rais'd , Bore him slope downward to the sun"
Example
More examples"One night a merchant was walking up the slope on his way home."
Etymology
From aslope (adjective, adverb).
Related phrases
More for "slope"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.