: that slants : sloping
—often used in combination
slope-sided
sloped; sloping
1
: to take an oblique course
2
: to lie or fall in a slant : incline
: to cause to incline or slant
sloper
noun
1
: ground that forms a natural or artificial incline
2
: upward or downward slant or inclination or degree of slant
3
: the part of a continent draining to a particular ocean
Alaska's North Slope
4
a
: the tangent of the angle made by a straight line with the x-axis
b
: the slope of the line tangent to a plane curve at a point
Synonyms
Examples of slope in a Sentence
Verb
His handwriting slopes to the left.
they sloped our new driveway too steeply and now my car scrapes bottom whenever I back out onto the street
Noun
They climbed the steep slope.
What is the angle of the slope?
You can adjust the slope of the ramp.
a slope of 30 degrees
Recent Examples on the Web
Pilar Guzmán, Travel + Leisure, 19 Mar. 2023
Below, Vogue tracks the most noteworthy openings, from restaurants, to stores, to post-slope hotspots.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2021
Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 31 May 2024
The sloping roof design and spoiler are reminiscent of Porsche models, so what’s not to like?
Hyundai touts the Ioniq 6 will go from 10 to 80 percent charged in 18 minutes on a 350 kW DC public fast charger.
—James Raia, The Mercury News, 19 May 2024
Emma Ogao, ABC News, 23 May 2024
Students have been required for decades to learn to solve for the variable x, and to find the slope of a line.
—Troy Closson, New York Times, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for slope 
Adjective
In the Dolomites, the pleasures of post-slope relaxing are simply woven into the culture.
—Pilar Guzmán, Travel + Leisure, 19 Mar. 2023
Below, Vogue tracks the most noteworthy openings, from restaurants, to stores, to post-slope hotspots.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2021
Verb
Constructed in 1956, the long, sloping walls of the sanctuary have opened onto St. Paul’s West Seventh Street — and Mancini’s Char House across the street — for 68 years.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 31 May 2024
The sloping roof design and spoiler are reminiscent of Porsche models, so what’s not to like?
Hyundai touts the Ioniq 6 will go from 10 to 80 percent charged in 18 minutes on a 350 kW DC public fast charger.
—James Raia, The Mercury News, 19 May 2024
Noun
British climber Daniel Paterson and his Nepali guide, Pas Tenji Sherpa, also remain missing after their expedition was hit on Tuesday by icefall on Everest's northern slope.
—Emma Ogao, ABC News, 23 May 2024
Students have been required for decades to learn to solve for the variable x, and to find the slope of a line.
—Troy Closson, New York Times, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for slope
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slope.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near slope
Cite this Entry
“Slope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slope. Accessed 6 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
slope
2 of 3 verb
sloped; sloping
: to take a slanting direction : give a slant to : incline
sloper
noun
slope
3 of 3 noun1
: ground that forms a natural or artificial incline
2
: upward or downward slant or degree of slant
3
: the ratio of the change in a vertical direction to the change in a horizontal direction between any two points on the graph of a straight line
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