What does slope mean?

Definitions for slope
sloʊpslope

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word slope.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. slope, incline, sidenoun

    an elevated geological formation

    "he climbed the steep slope"; "the house was built on the side of a mountain"

  2. gradient, slopeverb

    the property possessed by a line or surface that departs from the horizontal

    "a five-degree gradient"

  3. slope, incline, pitchverb

    be at an angle

    "The terrain sloped down"

Wiktionary

  1. slopenoun

    An area of ground that tends evenly upward or downward.

    I had to climb a small slope to get to the site.

  2. slopenoun

    The degree to which a surface tends upward or downward.

    The road has a very sharp downward slope at that point.

  3. slopenoun

    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.

    The slope of this line is 0.5

  4. slopenoun

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

    The slope of a parabola increases linearly with x.

  5. slopenoun

    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). For English units of measurement, when dimensions are given in inches, slope may be expressed as a ratio of rise to run, such as 4:12 or an an angle.

    The slope of an asphalt shingle roof system should be 4:12 or greater.

  6. slopenoun

    A person of Chinese or other East Asian descent.

  7. slopeverb

    To tend steadily upward or downward.

    The road slopes sharply down at that point.

  8. slopeverb

    To try to move surreptitiously.

    I sloped in through the back door, hoping my boss wouldn't see me.

  9. slopeverb

    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."

  10. Etymology: From aslope.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. SLOPEadjective

    Oblique; not perpendicular. It is generally used of acclivity or declivity; forming an angle greater or less with the plane of the horizon.

    Etymology: This word is not derived from any satisfactory original. Franciscus Junius omits it: Stephen Skinner derives it from slap, lax, Dutch; and derives it from the curve of a loose rope. Perhaps its original may be latent in loopen, Dutch, to run, slope being easy to the runner.

    Where there is a greater quantity of water, and space enough, the water moveth with a sloper rise and fall. Francis Bacon.

    Murm’ring waters fall
    Down the slope hills, dispers’d, or in a lake,
    That to the fringed bank with myrtle crown’d
    Her crystal mirror holds, unite their streams. John Milton.

  2. Slopeadverb

    Obliquely; not perpendicularly.

    Uriel
    Return’d on that bright beam, whose point now rais’d
    Bore him slope downward to the sun, now fall’n. John Milton.

  3. Slopenoun

    Etymology: from the adjective.

    Growing upon slopes is caused for that moss, as it cometh of moisture, so the water must but slide, not be in a pool. Francis Bacon.

    My lord advances with majestick mien,
    And when up ten steep slopes you’ve dragg’d your thighs,
    Just at his study door he’ll bless your eyes. Alexander Pope.

  4. To Slopeverb

    To form to obliquity or declivity; to direct obliquely.

    Etymology: from the adjective.

    Though bladed corn be lodg’d, and trees blown down,
    Though palaces and pyramids do slope
    Their heads to their foundations. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

    On each hand the flames
    Driv’n backward slope their pointing spires, and rowl’d
    In billows, leave i’ th’ midst a horrid vale. John Milton, Par. Lost.

    The star, that rose at evening bright,
    Toward heav’n’s descent had slop’d his westering wheel. John Milton.

    All night I slept, oblivious of my pain;
    Aurora dawn’d, and Phœbus shin’d in vain:
    Nor ’till oblique he slop’d his evening ray,
    Had Somnus dry’d the balmy dews away. Alexander Pope, Odyssey.

  5. To Slopeverb

    To take an oblique or declivous direction.

    Betwixt the midst and these the gods assign’d
    Two habitable seats for human kind;
    And cross their limits cut a sloping way,
    Which the twelve signs in beauteous order sway. Dryden.

    Upstarts a palace, lo! th’ obedient base
    Slopes at its foot, the woods its sides embrace. Alexander Pope.

    There is a strait hole in every ants nest half an inch deep, and then it goes down sloping into a place where they have their magazine. Joseph Addison, Spectator.

Wikipedia

  1. Slope

    In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the direction and the steepness of the line. Slope is often denoted by the letter m; there is no clear answer to the question why the letter m is used for slope, but its earliest use in English appears in O'Brien (1844) who wrote the equation of a straight line as "y = mx + b" and it can also be found in Todhunter (1888) who wrote it as "y = mx + c".Slope is calculated by finding the ratio of the "vertical change" to the "horizontal change" between (any) two distinct points on a line. Sometimes the ratio is expressed as a quotient ("rise over run"), giving the same number for every two distinct points on the same line. A line that is decreasing has a negative "rise". The line may be practical – as set by a road surveyor, or in a diagram that models a road or a roof either as a description or as a plan. The steepness, incline, or grade of a line is measured by the absolute value of the slope. A slope with a greater absolute value indicates a steeper line. The direction of a line is either increasing, decreasing, horizontal or vertical. A line is increasing if it goes up from left to right. The slope is positive, i.e. m > 0 {\displaystyle m>0} . A line is decreasing if it goes down from left to right. The slope is negative, i.e. m < 0 {\displaystyle m<0} . If a line is horizontal the slope is zero. This is a constant function. If a line is vertical the slope is undefined (see below).The rise of a road between two points is the difference between the altitude of the road at those two points, say y1 and y2, or in other words, the rise is (y2 − y1) = Δy. For relatively short distances, where the Earth's curvature may be neglected, the run is the difference in distance from a fixed point measured along a level, horizontal line, or in other words, the run is (x2 − x1) = Δx. Here the slope of the road between the two points is simply described as the ratio of the altitude change to the horizontal distance between any two points on the line. In mathematical language, the slope m of the line is m = y 2 − y 1 x 2 − x 1 . {\displaystyle m={\frac {y_{2}-y_{1}}{x_{2}-x_{1}}}.} The concept of slope applies directly to grades or gradients in geography and civil engineering. Through trigonometry, the slope m of a line is related to its angle of inclination θ by the tangent function m = tan ⁡ ( θ ) {\displaystyle m=\tan(\theta )} Thus, a 45° rising line has a slope of +1 and a 45° falling line has a slope of −1. As a generalization of this practical description, the mathematics of differential calculus defines the slope of a curve at a point as the slope of the tangent line at that point. When the curve is given by a series of points in a diagram or in a list of the coordinates of points, the slope may be calculated not at a point but between any two given points. When the curve is given as a continuous function, perhaps as an algebraic expression, then the differential calculus provides rules giving a formula for the slope of the curve at any point in the middle of the curve. This generalization of the concept of slope allows very complex constructions to be planned and built that go well beyond static structures that are either horizontals or verticals, but can change in time, move in curves, and change depending on the rate of change of other factors. Thereby, the simple idea of slope becomes one of the main basis of the modern world in terms of both technology and the built environment.

ChatGPT

  1. slope

    Slope, in mathematics, is a measure of the steepness of a line, or a section of a line, connecting two points. It is defined as the rate of change of 'y' as 'x' changes, or the vertical change (rise) divided by the horizontal change (run). The slope can be positive, negative, zero, or undefined, corresponding to increasing, decreasing, horizontal, or vertical lines, respectively.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Slopeverb

    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. Slopeverb

    any ground whose surface forms an angle with the plane of the horizon

  3. Slopeadjective

    sloping

  4. Slopeadverb

    in a sloping manner

  5. Slopeverb

    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

  6. Slopeverb

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

  7. Slopeverb

    to depart; to disappear suddenly

  8. Etymology: [Formed (like abode fr. abide) from OE. slipen. See Slip, v. i.]

Wikidata

  1. Slope

    In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line describes its steepness, incline, or grade. A higher slope value indicates a steeper incline. Slope is normally described by the ratio of the "rise" divided by the "run" between two points on a line. The line may be practical - as set by a road surveyor : or in a diagram that models a road or a roof either as a description or as a plan. The rise of a road between two points is the difference between the altitude of the road at those two points, say y1 and y2, or in other words, the rise is = Δy. For relatively short distances - where the earth's curvature may be neglected, the run is the difference in distance from a fixed point measured along a level, horizontal line, or in other words, the run is = Δx. Here the slope of the road between the two points is simply described as the ratio of the altitude change to the horizontal distance between any two points on the line. In mathematical language, the slope m of the line is The concept of slope applies directly to grades or gradients in geography and civil engineering. Through trigonometry, the grade m of a road is related to its angle of incline θ by As a generalization of this practical description, the mathematics of differential calculus defines the slope of a curve at a point as the slope of the tangent line at that point. When the curve given by a series of points in a diagram or in a list of the coordinates of points, the slope may be calculated not at a point but between any two given points. When the curve is given as a continuous function, perhaps as an algebraic formula, then the differential calculus provides rules giving a formula for the slope of the curve at any point in the middle of the curve.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Slope

    slōp, n. any incline down which a thing may slip: a direction downward.—v.t. to form with a slope, or obliquely.—v.i. to be inclined, to slant: (slang) to decamp, disappear.—adv. in a sloping manner.—adv. Slope′wise, obliquely.—p.adj. Slō′ping, inclining from a horizontal or other right line.—adv. Slō′pingly, in a sloping manner: with a slope.—adj. Slō′py, sloping, inclined: oblique. [A.S. slípan, pa.t. sláp, to slip.]

Suggested Resources

  1. slope

    Song lyrics by slope -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by slope on the Lyrics.com website.

Etymology and Origins

  1. Slope

    To run away with expedition, as it were down the slope of a hill.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'slope' in Nouns Frequency: #1610

Anagrams for slope »

  1. lopes

  2. olpes

  3. poles

  4. Poles

  5. elops

  6. spole

How to pronounce slope?

How to say slope in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of slope in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of slope in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of slope in a Sentence

  1. American Furyk:

    So far, I've been fortunate but we all know in this sport that it can be short-lived, if something happens to the back or whatever it may be, it's a tricky slope. I'm just thankful for the very healthy years that I've had and I do the best to get as many more as I can.

  2. Katty Castro:

    They were pushing her up the big slope toward her residence. These heroes were so focused on helping regardless of the inclement weather and they were even covering her with an umbrella, which showed more compassion on their part.

  3. John Thune:

    I just think for most people that has been litigated. That was a big issue over the course of President Donald Trump campaign and people voted for President Donald Trump, i think if you start down that path, that's kind of a slippery slope. I suspect that's precedent that you would create that in the future would get used again for that purpose, and sometimes the shoe may be on the other foot.

  4. College Park Councilmember Fazlul Kabir:

    The good thing is that it gives more residents the chance to make elected people more responsible, more accountable, but the risk is that this could be a slippery slope—other cities can do this, and the change could trickle down beyond College Park to counties and states, and it could even become a national issue –that’s the risk I was feeling.

  5. Terry Hughes:

    This has been the saddest research trip of my life, almost without exception, every reef we flew across showed consistently high levels of bleaching, from the reef slope right up onto the top of the reef. We flew for 4000 kilometers (2,485 miles) in the most pristine parts of the Great Barrier Reef and saw only four reefs that had no bleaching. The severity is much greater than in earlier bleaching events in 2002 or 1998.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

slope#1#8479#10000

Translations for slope

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • منحدر, مَيْلArabic
  • svah, stoupání, sklonCzech
  • rhiwWelsh
  • Steigung, Hang, Schlitzauge, Ableitung, Gradient, SchlitziGerman
  • εφαπτομένη, συντελεστής διεύθυνσηςGreek
  • cuesta, inclinación, pendiente, ojo chueco, chuequito, desnivel, cuesta abajoSpanish
  • kiliEstonian
  • شیبPersian
  • kaltevuus, jyrkkyys, [[tehdä]] [[kallistus]], livahtaa, [[pitää]] [[olka, rinne, kulmakerroin, gradientti, viettää, kallistaa, vinosilmä, hiipiäFinnish
  • pente, inclinaisonFrench
  • fána, sléim, ardú, caitheamh le fána, céim fhánaIrish
  • pendenteGalician
  • meredekség, emelkedő, lejtő, ferdeszeműHungarian
  • lerengIndonesian
  • inclinazione, muso giallo, pendio, pendenzaItalian
  • 勾配, 坂道, 傾斜率, 傾斜, スロープ, 坂, 傾斜角Japanese
  • эңкейиш, эңкейүүKyrgyz
  • panaunga, tahataha, harapaki, tāwhatinga, aupakiMāori
  • lerengMalay
  • steilte, glooiing, glooien, helling, spleetoog, richtingscoëfficient, sluipenDutch
  • bakke, oppoverbakke, helling, skråning, nedoverbakke, stigningNorwegian
  • skarpa, stok, zboczePolish
  • ladeira, declive, gradiente, inclinação, inclinar, amarelo, olho puxadoPortuguese
  • pantăRomanian
  • скат, наклон, склон, откос, уклон, узкоглазый, косоглазыйRussian
  • о̀бронак, падина, pàdina, косѝна, косооки, нагиб, òbronak, nagib, kosìna, kosookiSerbo-Croatian
  • sklon, stúpanie, svahSlovak
  • strmina, klanec, naklonSlovene
  • mteremkoSwahili
  • వాలుTelugu

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"slope." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/slope>.

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