A narrow opening, as in a hole or groove, into which something fits. Also: a position in a group, series, or sequence, especially one that can be filled; an assignment or job opening. The car seat belt slotted easily into place. The program received a new time slot on the broadcasting schedule.
In cable street-railroads, a narrow continuous opening through which the grip on a car passes to connect with the traveling cable. a notch or opening in the edge of something, especially a book, allowing it to be opened. a hole or gap in a door or other closing, to admit air or water. A notch or aperture in a wall, roof, or wing, to reduce drag.
A device that pays out winnings according to a predetermined pattern, typically by using symbols on rotating reels. The first such machine was invented in 1909 by Charles Fey. The first slot machines were widely popular and a frequent source of controversy, especially in the United States, where they were banned by moralists and law enforcement. Modern slot machines do not use the tilt switches that made electromechanical machines break a circuit when they were tilted or otherwise tampered with, but any malfunction of a machine is still referred to as a “tilt.”
A logical unit of memory in a computer that stores data for later execution. It is usually a block of storage that occupies 128 KB, although it can be as small as 256 KB. It is used in conjunction with other logical units, called slots, to perform a given task. The term is also applied to the corresponding logical units in operating systems and other programs.