SLATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does slate mean? 

• SLATE (noun)
  The noun SLATE has 4 senses:

1. (formerly) a writing tablet made of slate

2. thin layers of rock used for roofing

3. a fine-grained metamorphic rock that can be split into thin layers

4. a list of candidates nominated by a political party to run for election to public offices

  Familiarity information: SLATE used as a noun is uncommon.

• SLATE (verb)
  The verb SLATE has 3 senses:

1. designate or schedule

2. enter on a list or slate for an election

3. cover with slate

  Familiarity information: SLATE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SLATE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(formerly) a writing tablet made of slate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("slate" is a kind of...):

tablet (a slab of stone or wood suitable for bearing an inscription)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Thin layers of rock used for roofing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

slate; slating

Hypernyms ("slate" is a kind of...):

roofing material (building material used in constructing roofs)

Derivation:

slate (cover with slate)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A fine-grained metamorphic rock that can be split into thin layers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("slate" is a kind of...):

sedimentary rock (rock formed from consolidated clay sediments)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A list of candidates nominated by a political party to run for election to public offices

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

slate; ticket

Hypernyms ("slate" is a kind of...):

list; listing (a database containing an ordered array of items (names or topics))

Derivation:

slate (enter on a list or slate for an election)

• SLATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they slate    ... he / she / it slates   
Past simple: slated   
Past participle: slated   
-ing form: slating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Designate or schedule

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

She was slated to be his successor

Hypernyms (to "slate" is one way to...):

designate; destine; intend; specify (design or destine)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sense 2

Meaning:

Enter on a list or slate for an election

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

He was slated for borough president

Hypernyms (to "slate" is one way to...):

cross-file; register (have one's name listed as a candidate for several parties)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

slate (a list of candidates nominated by a political party to run for election to public offices)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cover with slate

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

slate the roof

Hypernyms (to "slate" is one way to...):

roof (provide a building with a roof; cover a building with a roof)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

slate (thin layers of rock used for roofing)

slating (the act of laying slates for a roof)

 Context examples 

All that will change now, for the new moon this month on March 24, and the days and weeks to follow, will wipe the slate clean and allow you to start fresh.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

‘Have you the slate, Harold?’ cried the older man, as this strange being fell rather than sat down into a chair.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The little old woman took the slate from her nose, and having read the words on it, asked, "Is your name Dorothy, my dear?"

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

Researchers are then able to guide these “blank slate” cells into different cell types by using various chemical and physical stimuli.

(Early stimulation improves performance of bioengineered human heart cells, National Institutes of Health)

The mature color is from slate blue to light gray.

(Kerry Blue Terrier, NCI Thesaurus)

I believe we forgot everything except, of course, personal fear, and it seemed to wipe the slate clean and give us a fresh start.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Let the child who broke her slate come forward!

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

"You're the crossest person in it!" returned Amy, washing out the sum that was all wrong with the tears that had fallen on her slate.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The end of the reconstruction of the new station is slated for March 2018, the commandant reported.

(Brazil ship off to Antarctica for research support, Agência Brasil)

After laying his head on the desk for a little while, he would cheer up, somehow, begin to laugh again, and draw skeletons all over his slate, before his eyes were dry.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)