- 1 [countable] a surface or piece of land that slopes (= is higher at one end than the other) synonym incline a grassy slope The town is built on a slope. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveprecipitous, steep, gentle, … verb + slopeascend, clamber up, climb, … slope + verblead to something, rise, level off, … prepositiondown a/the slope, of a/the slope, on a/the slope, … phrasesthe 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 the eastern slopes of the Andes ski slopes He spends all winter on the slopes (= skiing). Wordfindermountainaltitude, foothill, mountain, peak, precipice, ridge, slope, summit, valley, volcano Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveprecipitous, steep, gentle, … verb + slopeascend, clamber up, climb, … slope + verblead to something, rise, level off, … prepositiondown a/the slope, of a/the slope, on a/the slope, … phrasesthe bottom of a slope, the foot of a slope, the top of a slope, … See full entry See related entries: Mountains and valleys, Winter sports
- 3 [singular, uncountable] the amount by which something slopes a gentle/steep slope a slope of 45 degrees the angle of slope Because of the slope of the roof, the snow cannot accumulate. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveprecipitous, steep, gentle, … verb + slopeascend, clamber up, climb, … slope + verblead to something, rise, level off, … prepositiondown a/the slope, of a/the slope, on a/the slope, … phrasesthe bottom of a slope, the foot of a slope, the top of a slope, … See full entry 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.Extra examples Once he’d tried that first cigarette, he was on the slippery slope to being a smoker. Rocks and boulders rolled down the slopes of the crater. She plans to hit the ski slopes this winter. Some tourists were having a skiing lesson on the nursery slope. The field has a slope of about three feet. The football pitch has a slope of about one metre. The lower slopes rise quite gently. The unemployment-income curve on the graph has a negative slope. The vineyard covers the slope. The vineyards on the south-facing slopes get more sunshine. There was snow on the higher slopes of the mountain. There were more skiers further up the slope. We camped on an open mountain slope. We clambered up the steep, rocky slope. a slope leading down to the river a west-facing slope overlooking the river dry-slope skiing ski lessons on the bunny slope skiing lessons on the nursery slope the angle of slope of the sides of the pyramid the continental slope off the American coast the slope of a curve/line the slope of a hill/mountain/roof Most of the city’s land has a slope of 30 degrees or more. The angle of slope must be determined before construction can begin. The house sits comfortably at the bottom of a grassy slope. The land rises in a gentle slope from the sea to the foot of the mountains. The town is built on a slope.Idioms
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BrE BrE//sləʊp//; NAmE NAmE//sloʊp//
Mountains and valleys, Winter sports
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.
Check pronunciation: slope
