slope

/sloʊp/

/sləʊp/

Other forms: slopes; sloping; sloped

If you find yourself on a slippery slope, watch out: you could be sliding down a hill. Land that is not level is called a slope. Slope can also be a verb, as in land that slopes down to sea level.

Language experts believe the word slope came from the Middle English word aslope, an adverb that means “at an angle.” The word has a noun form you can use for something that is at an angle — on a slope — like a steep hill or the ramp in a parking garage. It also has a verb form that can be used to describe something that slants, like someone's signature with letters that slope to the left or an angled haircut that slopes to cover one eye.

Definitions of slope

1. verb

   be at an angle
   “The terrain sloped down”

   synonyms: incline, pitch

   types:

   ascend

   slope upwards

   stoop

   sag, bend, bend over or down

   fall

   slope downward

   climb

   slope upward

   dip

   slope downwards

   type of:

   angle, lean, slant, tilt, tip

   incline or bend from a vertical position
2. noun

   an elevated geological formation
   “he climbed the steep slope”

   synonyms: incline, side

   types:

   acclivity, ascent, climb, raise, rise, upgrade

   an upward slope or grade (as in a road)

   bank

   sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)

   bank, camber, cant

   a slope in the turn of a road or track; the outside is higher than the inside in order to reduce the effects of centrifugal force

   canyonside

   the steeply sloping side of a canyon

   coast

   a slope down which sleds may coast

   declension, declination, decline, declivity, descent, downslope, fall

   a downward slope or bend

   escarpment, scarp

   a long steep slope or cliff at the edge of a plateau or ridge; usually formed by erosion

   hillside

   the side or slope of a hill

   mountainside, versant

   the side or slope of a mountain

   piedmont

   a gentle slope leading from the base of a mountain to a region of flat land

   ski slope

   a snow-covered slope for skiing

   brae

   a slope or hillside

   downhill

   the downward slope of a hill

   riverbank, riverside

   the bank of a river

   steep

   a steep place (as on a hill)

   uphill

   the upward slope of a hill

   waterside

   land bordering a body of water

   type of:

   formation, geological formation

   (geology) the geological features of the earth
3. noun

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

   types:

   grade

   the gradient of a slope or road or other surface

   pitch, rake, slant

   degree of deviation from a horizontal plane

   abruptness, precipitousness, steepness

   the property possessed by a slope that is very steep

   gentleness, gradualness

   the property possessed by a slope that is very gradual

   rise, rising slope, upgrade

   the property possessed by a slope or surface that rises

   downgrade

   the property possessed by a slope or surface that descends

   loft

   (golf) the backward slant on the head of some golf clubs that is designed to drive the ball high in the air

   type of:

   position, spatial relation

   the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated