Adjacent Words

Slope definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SLOPE, a. [This word contains the elements of L. labor, lapsus, and Eng. slip; also of L. levo. Eng. lift. I know not whether it originally signified ascending or descending, probably the latter.] Inclined or inclining form a horizontal direction; forming an angle with the plane of the horizon; as slope hills. [Little used.]
SLOPE, n.
1. An oblique direction; a line or direction inclining from a horizontal line; properly, a direction downwards.
2. An oblique direction in general; a direction forming an angle with a perpendicular or other right line.
3. A declivity; any ground whose surface forms an angle with the plane of the horizon; also, an acclivity, as every declivity must be also an acclivity.
SLOPE, v.t. To form with a slope; to form to declivity or obliquity; to direct obliquely; to incline; as, to slope the ground in a garde; to slope a piece of cloth in cutting a garment.
SLOPE, v.i. To take an oblique direction; to be declivous or inclined.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an elevated geological formation; "he climbed the steep slope"; "the house was built on the side of a mountain" [syn: slope, incline, side]
2: the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal; "a five-degree gradient" [syn: gradient, slope] v
1: be at an angle; "The terrain sloped down" [syn: slope, incline, pitch]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English sloop, probably from aslope, adverb, at an angle Date: 15th century that slants ; sloping — often used in combination <slope-sided> II. verb (sloped; sloping) Date: 1591 intransitive verb 1. to take an oblique course 2. to lie or fall in a slant ; incline 3. go, travel <slopes off into the night — Wolcott Gibbs> transitive verb to cause to incline or slant • sloper noun III. noun Date: circa 1568 1. ground that forms a natural or artificial incline 2. upward or downward slant or inclination or degree of slant 3. the part of a continent draining to a particular ocean <Alaska's North Slope> 4. a. the tangent of the angle made by a straight line with the x-axis b. the slope of the line tangent to a plane curve at a point

Britannica Concise

Numerical measure of a line's inclination relative to the horizontal. In analytic geometry, the slope of any line, ray, or line segment is the ratio of the vertical to the horizontal distance between any two points on it ("slope equals rise over run"). In differential calculus, the slope of a line tangent to the graph of a function is given by that function's derivative and represents the instantaneous rate of change of the function with respect to change in the independent variable. In the graph of a position function (representing the distance traveled by an object plotted against elapsed time), the slope of a tangent line represents the object's instantaneous velocity.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 an inclined position or direction; a state in which one end or side is at a higher level than another; a position in a line neither parallel nor perpendicular to level ground or to a line serving as a standard. 2 a piece of rising or falling ground. 3 a a difference in level between the two ends or sides of a thing (a slope of 5 metres). b the rate at which this increases with distance etc. 4 a place for skiing on the side of a hill or mountain. 5 (prec. by the) the position of a rifle when sloped. --v. 1 intr. have or take a slope; slant esp. up or down; lie or tend obliquely, esp. to ground level. 2 tr. place or arrange or make in or at a slope. Phrases and idioms: slope arms place one's rifle in a sloping position against one's shoulder. slope off sl. go away, esp. to evade work etc. Etymology: shortening of ASLOPE

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Slope Slope, n. The part of a continent descending toward, and draining to, a particular ocean; as, the Pacific slope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Slope Slope, n. [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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Slope Slope, a. Sloping. ``Down the slope hills.'' --Milton. A bank not steep, but gently slope. --Bacon.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Slope Slope, adv. In a sloping manner. [Obs.] --Milton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Slope 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]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(slopes, sloping, sloped) 1. A slope is the side of a mountain, hill, or valley. Saint-Christo is perched on a mountain slope. ...the lower slopes of the Himalayas. N-COUNT: usu with supp 2. A slope is a surface that is at an angle, so that one end is higher than the other. The street must have been on a slope. = incline N-COUNT: usu sing 3. If a surface slopes, it is at an angle, so that one end is higher than the other. The bank sloped down sharply to the river... The garden sloped quite steeply. VERB: V adv/prep, V • sloping ...a brick building, with a sloping roof. ...the gently sloping beach. ADJ 4. If something slopes, it leans to the right or to the left rather than being upright. The writing sloped backwards... = slant VERB: V adv/prep 5. The slope of something is the angle at which it slopes. The slope increases as you go up the curve. ...a slope of ten degrees. N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n 6. see also ski slope 7. slippery slope: see slippery

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Obliquity, oblique direction, direction downward. 2. Inclination, acclivity or declivity. II. v. a. Incline. III. v. n. Incline, slant, take an oblique direction.

Moby Thesaurus

acclivity, angle, angularity, ascend, ascent, bank, bend, bevel, bezel, camber, cant, careen, chute, climb, decline, declivity, deflection, descend, descent, deviation, dip, downgrade, drop, drop off, easy slope, fall, fall away, fall off, fleam, gentle slope, glacis, go downhill, go uphill, grade, gradient, hanging gardens, heel, helicline, hill, hillside, inclination, incline, inclined plane, keel, launching ramp, lean, leaning, leaning tower, list, mount, obliqueness, obliquity, pitch, rake, ramp, recline, retreat, rise, scarp, shelve, shelving beach, side, sidle, sink, skew, slant, steep slope, stiff climb, swag, sway, talus, tilt, tip, tower of Pisa, upgrade, uprise