slope

slope
—slopingly, adv. —slopingness, n.
/slohp/, v., sloped, sloping, n.
v.i.
1. to have or take an inclined or oblique direction or angle considered with reference to a vertical or horizontal plane; slant.
2. to move at an inclination or obliquely: They sloped gradually westward.
v.t.
3. to direct at a slant or inclination; incline from the horizontal or vertical: The sun sloped its beams.
4. to form with a slope or slant: to slope an embankment.
5. slope off, Chiefly Brit. Slang. to make one's way out slowly or furtively.
n.
6. ground that has a natural incline, as the side of a hill.
7. inclination or slant, esp. downward or upward.
8. deviation from the horizontal or vertical.
9. an inclined surface.
10. Usually, slopes. hills, esp. foothills or bluffs: the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
11. Math.
a. the tangent of the angle between a given straight line and the x-axis of a system of Cartesian coordinates.
b. the derivative of the function whose graph is a given curve evaluated at a designated point.
12. Slang (disparaging and offensive). an Asian, esp. a Vietnamese.
[1495-1505; aphetic var. of ASLOPE; akin to SLIP1]
Syn. 1. SLOPE, SLANT mean to incline away from a relatively straight surface or line used as a reference. TO SLOPE is to incline vertically in an oblique direction: The ground slopes (upward or downward) sharply here. TO SLANT is to fall to one side, to lie obliquely to some line whether horizontal or perpendicular: The road slants off to the right.

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Numerical measure of a line's inclination relative to the horizontal.

In analytic geometry, the slope of any line, ray, or line segment is the ratio of the vertical to the horizontal distance between any two points on it ("slope equals rise over run"). In differential calculus, the slope of a line tangent to the graph of a function is given by that function's derivative and represents the instantaneous rate of change of the function with respect to change in the independent variable. In the graph of a position function (representing the distance traveled by an object plotted against elapsed time), the slope of a tangent line represents the object's instantaneous velocity.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Slope — is used to describe the steepness, incline, gradient, or grade of a straight line. A higher slope value indicates a steeper incline. The slope is defined as the ratio of the rise divided by the run between two points on a line, or in other words …   Wikipedia

  • Slope — (eng.: Steigung) steht für Course Rating und Slope, Golfbegriff Dual Slope Verfahren, Funktionsprinzip eines ADUs Visual Approach Slope Indicator (VASI) optisches System für Piloten Slippery Slope Argument, rhetorischer Begriff Clapeyron Slope,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Slope — Slope, n. [Formed (like abode fr. abide) from OE. slipen. See {Slip}, v. i.] 1. 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. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Slope — Slope, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sloped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sloping}.] 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… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Slope — Slope, a. Sloping. Down the slope hills. Milton. [1913 Webster] A bank not steep, but gently slope. Bacon. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • slope — [slōp] n. [ME < aslope, sloping (mistaken as a slope) < OE aslopen, pp. of aslupan, to slip away < slupan, to glide: see SLOOP] 1. a piece of ground that is not flat or level; rising or falling ground 2. any inclined line, surface,… …   English World dictionary

  • Slope — Slope, adv. In a sloping manner. [Obs.] Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Slope — Slope, v. i. 1. To take an oblique direction; to be at an angle with the plane of the horizon; to incline; as, the ground slopes. [1913 Webster] 2. To depart; to disappear suddenly. [Slang] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • slope — [n] slant, tilt abruptness, bank, bend, bevel, bias, cant, declination, declivity, deflection, descent, deviation, diagonal, downgrade, gradient, hill, inclination, incline, lean, leaning, obliqueness, obliquity, pitch, ramp, rise, rising ground …   New thesaurus

  • slope — ► NOUN 1) a surface of which one end or side is at a higher level than another. 2) a part of the side of a hill or mountain, especially as a place for skiing. ► VERB 1) be inclined from a horizontal or vertical line; slant up or down. 2) informal …   English terms dictionary

  • slope — (v.) 1590s, from earlier adj. meaning slanting (c.1500), probably from M.E. aslope (adv.) on the incline (late 15c.), from O.E. *aslopen, pp. of aslupan to slip away, from a away + slupan to slip (see SLEEVE (Cf. sleeve)). The noun is first… …   Etymology dictionary

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