A narrow opening, hole or slit, as one used to receive a coin in a vending machine. Also used to refer to a position or time in a sequence or series, as in the slot the band takes on at the concert. Also known as a window, berth or niche. From Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright
A slot is a short period of time in which players can place bets on the outcome of a spin of the reels. Typically, the more spins completed within the slot, and the higher the total credit meter, the better the player’s chances of winning a prize. A slot can be occupied by one or more bets, and is commonly found on video poker machines.
a narrow notch or groove, as on a door handle or other surface. Also known as a hole, slit or aperture. Examples include the keyway in a piece of machinery, or the slot for a coin on a slot machine. A slot may be vertical, horizontal or diagonal, and is often square, rectangular, circular or oval.
In a slot machine, a narrow opening into which a coin can be inserted to activate the machine and reveal a jackpot or other prize. A slot can also refer to a particular denomination of a slot machine, the number of pay lines, symbols, bonuses, and other factors.
Slot machines can be played for cash or, in “ticket-in, ticket-out” models, a barcoded paper ticket with a unique serial number. Upon activation, the slot machine displays a screen with a number of reels and various symbols. A lever or button (either physical or on a touchscreen) is then pushed to initiate the spinning of the reels, and any symbols that line up on the payline earn credits according to the machine’s payout schedule. Many modern slots use electronic microprocessors to weight particular symbols differently, allowing them to appear more frequently than others.
A position in an athletic team’s offensive scheme, usually for a wide receiver. Slot receivers tend to run more complex routes, often requiring speed and agility to avoid tacklers. The name comes from the location of the slot receiver pre-snap, which is located between the last man on the line of scrimmage and the outside receiver.
In aviation, a time and space allocated to an aircraft by an airport or air-traffic control authority to take off or land, as authorized by the slot allocation system. Compared with traditional flight planning, where each aircraft’s slot is individually planned, this new approach reduces both delays and fuel burn.
In computer hardware, a slot is an open connector on a motherboard into which a processor can be inserted. Early Intel slot processors were called slots, but now they are more often referred to as sockets. Intel has also developed larger slots, such as the Xeon Processor E3-1200 Series and the Kaby Lake-based Core i7-7700K, which are designed to support multi-threaded applications.