SLOPE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does slope mean? 

• SLOPE (noun)
  The noun SLOPE has 2 senses:

1. an elevated geological formation

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

  Familiarity information: SLOPE used as a noun is rare.

• SLOPE (verb)
  The verb SLOPE has 1 sense:

1. be at an angle

  Familiarity information: SLOPE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SLOPE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An elevated geological formation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

incline; side; slope

Context example:

the house was built on the side of a mountain

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

formation; geological formation ((geology) the geological features of the earth)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "slope"):

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

ski slope (a snow-covered slope for skiing)

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

mountainside; versant (the side or slope of a mountain)

hillside (the side or slope of a hill)

declension; declination; decline; declivity; descent; downslope; fall (a downward slope or bend)

coast (a slope down which sleds may coast)

canyonside (the steeply sloping side of a canyon)

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)

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

acclivity; ascent; climb; raise; rise; upgrade (an upward slope or grade (as in a road))

Holonyms ("slope" is a part of...):

elevation; natural elevation (a raised or elevated geological formation)

Derivation:

slope (be at an angle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

gradient; slope

Context example:

a five-degree gradient

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

position; spatial relation (the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "slope"):

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)

grade (the gradient of a slope or road or other surface)

Derivation:

slope (be at an angle)

• SLOPE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they slope    ... he / she / it slopes   
Past simple: sloped   
Past participle: sloped   
-ing form: sloping   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be at an angle

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

incline; pitch; slope

Context example:

The terrain sloped down

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

angle; lean; slant; tilt; tip (to incline or bend from a vertical position)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "slope"):

ascend (slope upwards)

stoop (sag, bend, bend over or down)

fall (slope downward)

climb (slope upward)

dip (slope downwards)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

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

slope (an elevated geological formation)

 Context examples 

The road still ascended, and we crossed a rock-studded slope which took two days to traverse.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The steep slopes leading down from the smooth rock layers to the rough terrain are consistent with the young age estimates.

(Evidence for Young Lunar Volcanism, NASA)

A moment later they were on the downward slope, and she had vanished from their view.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A gentle slope ran up from the beach to the entrance of the cave.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Again the ground sloped, and again we came on the tracks.

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

If atmospheric water vapor is a trigger, then a question is why the RSL appear on some slopes but not others.

(Recurring Martian Streaks: Flowing Sand, Not Water?, NASA)

You must make a new garden at what is now the back of the house; which will be giving it the best aspect in the world, sloping to the south-east.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

It will be a very fine object from many parts of the park, and the flower-garden will slope down just before it, and be exceedingly pretty.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

These downhill flows, known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), often have been described as possibly related to liquid water.

(NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Today's Mars, NASA)

A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, thickening into a grove at the highest point.

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