Wiktionary

slope

English

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Etymology

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From aslope (adjective, adverb).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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A sign indicating a road with a 25% gradient slope in Elenith, Wales
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
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slope (countable and uncountable, plural slopes)

  1. An area of ground that tends evenly upward or downward.
    I had to climb a small slope to get to the site.
    a steep slope
  2. The degree to which a surface tends upward or downward.
    The road has a very sharp downward slope at that point.
  3. (mathematics, of a line, with respect to a fixed coordinate system) The ratio of the vertical and horizontal distances between two points lying on the line.
    The slope of this line is 0.5
  4. (mathematics, of a curve at a given point; sometimes proscribed, see Usage notes) The slope of the line tangent to the curve at the given point.
    The slope of a parabola increases linearly with x.
  5. 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).
    The slope of an asphalt shingle roof system should be 4:12 or greater.
  6. (vulgar, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Chinese or other East Asian descent.

Usage notes

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  • In mathematical contexts, lines that are vertical (with respect to a given coordinate system) are said to either have infinite slope, or to have their slope undefined.
  • While common in pre-university level mathematics and in introductory calculus, the use of slope to refer to the slope of a tangent line of a curve is proscribed in higher mathematics, where application is restricted to lines.

Synonyms

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Translations

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Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To tend steadily upward or downward.
    The road slopes sharply down at that point.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward. The slightest effort made the patient cough.
    • 1946 July and August, K. Westcott Jones, “Isle of Wight Central Railway—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 244:
      St. Lawrence Station is very prettily situated, high cliffs on the left, and the lush vegetation of the Undercliff sloping down to the sea on the right.
  2. (transitive) To form with a slope; to give an oblique or slanting direction to; to incline or slant.
    to slope the ground in a garden;   to slope a piece of cloth in cutting a garment
  3. (UK, colloquial, usually followed by a preposition) To try to move surreptitiously.
    I sloped in through the back door, hoping my boss wouldn't see me.
  4. (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.
    The order was given to "slope arms".

Derived terms

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noun and verb

Translations

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Adjective

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slope (comparative more slope, superlative most slope)

  1. (obsolete) Sloping.
    • 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Gardens”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
      A bank not steep, but gently slope.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      Down the slope hills.

Adverb

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slope (comparative more slope, superlative most slope)

  1. (obsolete) slopingly
    • 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      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

Anagrams

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Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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slope

  1. (dated or formal) singular past subjunctive of sluipen
  2. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of slopen

Anagrams

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