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Definition of slope noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

slope

noun
 
/sləʊp/
 
/sləʊp/
Idioms
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  1. [countable] a surface or piece of land that slopes (= is higher at one end than the other) synonym incline
    • on a slope The town is built on a slope.
    • Down the slope and beyond the road lay the Pacific Ocean.
    • He made his way up the slope from the station to the bus stop.
    • a grassy slope
    Extra Examples
    • We clambered up the steep, rocky slope.
    • a slope leading down to the river
    • a west-facing slope overlooking the river
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • precipitous
    • steep
    • gentle
    verb + slope
    • ascend
    • clamber up
    • climb
    slope + verb
    • lead to something
    • rise
    • level off
    preposition
    • down a/​the slope
    • of a/​the slope
    • on a/​the slope
    phrases
    • the bottom of a slope
    • the foot of a slope
    • the top of a slope
    See full entry
  2. [countable, usually plural] an area of land that is part of a mountain or hill
    • slope of something the eastern slopes of the Andes
    • ski slopes
    • on a slope We camped on an open mountain slope.
    • He spends all winter on the slopes (= skiing).
    • There were more skiers further up the slope.
    • There was now molten lava several hundred metres down the slope.
    Extra Examples
    • Rocks and boulders rolled down the slopes of the crater.
    • The lower slopes rise quite gently.
    • There was snow on the higher slopes of the mountain.
    • The vineyards on the south-facing slopes get more sunshine.
    Topics Sports: other sportsb2, Geographyb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • precipitous
    • steep
    • gentle
    verb + slope
    • ascend
    • clamber up
    • climb
    slope + verb
    • lead to something
    • rise
    • level off
    preposition
    • down a/​the slope
    • of a/​the slope
    • on a/​the slope
    phrases
    • the bottom of a slope
    • the foot of a slope
    • the top of a slope
    See full entry
  3. [singular, uncountable] the amount by which something slopes
    • a steep slope
    • a gentle slope
    • slope of something a slope of 45 degrees
    • Because of the slope of the roof, the snow cannot accumulate.
    • the angle of slope
    Extra Examples
    • The football pitch has a slope of about one metre.
    • The unemployment-income curve on the graph has a negative slope.
    • Most of the city’s land has a slope of 30 degrees or more.
    • The land rises in a gentle slope from the sea to the foot of the mountains.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • precipitous
    • steep
    • gentle
    verb + slope
    • ascend
    • clamber up
    • climb
    slope + verb
    • lead to something
    • rise
    • level off
    preposition
    • down a/​the slope
    • of a/​the slope
    • on a/​the slope
    phrases
    • the bottom of a slope
    • the foot of a slope
    • the top of a slope
    See full entry
  4. Word Originlate 16th cent. (as a verb): from the obsolete adverb slope, a shortening of aslope. The use of the verb in sense 3 may be related to lope.
Idioms
the/a slippery slope
  1. a course of action that is difficult to stop once it has begun, and can lead to serious problems or disaster
    • She realized he was on the slippery slope towards a life of crime.
See slope in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee slope in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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