1309
sludge
through water or mud noisily: We sloshed along in our rubber boots. 3 [T] BrE to hit; PUNCH
**sloshed** /slɒʃt||slɑːʃt/ *adj* [F] *infml* drunk
**slot**¹ /slɒt||slɑːt/ *n* **1** a long straight narrow opening or hollow place, especially in a machine or tool: *Put a coin in the slot.* | *a slot in the top of a screw* ➔ compare SLIT **2** *infml* a place or position in a list, system, organization etc: *He's been given a regular ten-minute slot on the radio.* | *to fill advertising slots*
**slot**² *v* -tt- [I+adv/prep; T+adv/prep, especially IN, into] **1** to put or be put into a SLOT: *You buy this bookcase in sections and slot them together.* | 'This box has a removable lid which slots back in like this', he said, slotting it into the box. **2** *infml*, especially BrE to fit into a SLOT; find a place for or be found a place: *This new car slots in between the economy model and the executive model in our range.* | *I've got some urgent business to discuss. Can you slot me in after lunch?*
**sloth** /sləʊθ/ *n* **1** [C] a slow-moving animal of central and S America that lives in trees and hangs by all four legs from branches **2** [U] especially *lit* unwillingness to work; laziness. Sloth is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. ➔ see also SEVEN DEADLY SINS
**sloth·ful** /ˈsləʊθfəl/ *adj* especially *lit* unwillingness to work or be active; lazy ➔**ly** *adv* ➔**ness** *n* [U]
**'slot ma,chine** *n* **1** BrE a VENDING MACHINE **2** AmE for ONE-ARMED BANDIT
**slot·ted** /ˈslɒtɪd||slɑː-/ *adj* having a SLOT cut into it: *a slotted screw*
**,slotted 'spatula** *n* AmE for FISH SLICE
**slouch**¹ /slaʊtʃ/ *n* **1** [S] a tired-looking round-shouldered way of sitting, standing, or walking **2** [C usually in negatives] *infml* a lazy, slow, or useless person: *He's no slouch when it comes to writing books.* (=he writes them quickly and often)
**slouch**² *v* [I] to sit, stand, or walk with a slouch: *She slouches around the house all day, doing nothing.* ➔**ingly** *adv*
**,slouch 'hat** *n* a man's soft hat with a BRIM that can be pulled down
**slough**¹ /slʌf/ *v*
slough sthg. ⇔ off *phr v* [T] **1** (especially of a snake) to throw off (dead outer skin) **2** especially *lit* to get rid of as something worn out or unwanted
slough over *phr v* [T] AmE to treat as unimportant, especially in order to hide a problem or difficulty: *He sloughed over all the details about how much it would cost and said we could drive it home tonight.*
**slough**² /slaʊ||sluː, slaʊ/ *n* **1** a place of deep mud or MARSH **2** [(of)] *lit* a bad condition from which one cannot easily get free: *a slough of self-pity*
**Slough of Des·pond, the** /ˌslaʊ əv dɪˈspɒnd||ˌsluː əv dɪˈspɑːnd, ˌslaʊ-/ *lit* a situation in which you are very unhappy and there seems to be no hope that things will improve, from the name of a place in the book *The Pilgrim's Progress* by John BUNYAN
**Slo·va·ki·a** /sləʊˈvɑkiə/ a country in Eastern Europe between Ukraine and Czech Republic. From 1918 to 1993, it was part of the country known as Czechoslovakia. Slovakia joined the EU in 2004. Population: 5,379,455 (2001). Capital: Bratislava. ➔**Slovakian, Slovak** /ˈslæʊvæk/ *n, adj*
**Slo·ve·ni·a** /sləʊˈviːniə/ a country in southeast Europe, between Austria and Croatia, that was formerly part of Yugoslavia. Slovenia joined the EU in 2004. Population: 1,964,036 (2002). Capital: Ljubljana. ➔**Slovenian** *n, adj*
**slov·en·ly** /ˈslʌvənli/ *adj* **1** (of habits etc) not clean, neat, or orderly; untidy: *How can you bear to live in such slovenly conditions?* **2** very carelessly done: *a slovenly piece of work* ➔**liness** *n* [U]
**Slo·vo, Joe** /ˈslɒvɒʊ, dʒəʊ/ (1926–95) a white South African lawyer, born in Lithuania, who had an important part in opposing the system of APARTHEID in South Africa. He was the leader of the South African Communist Party, and a leading member of the ANC. In the last two years of his life he was a minister in Nelson Mandela's government.
**slow**¹ /sləʊ/ *adj* **1** not moving, acting, or happening quickly; having less than a usual or average speed: *a slow train | slow music | the slow erosion of rock by wind and rain* **2** **a)** taking a long time or a longer time than usual: *Heavy traffic made our journey very/painfully slow.* | *a restaurant with slow service | a long slow process* **b)** taking too long, especially because of unwillingness; not PROMPT: *a slow response to our request for help* | [F+to-v] *The public has been rather slow to recognize/grasp the implications of the new law.* **3** [F+after n] (of a clock) showing a time that is earlier than the true time, often by a stated amount: *The station clocks are (two minutes) slow.* ➔ see CLOCK (USAGE) **4** [A] not intended for quick movement: *the slow lane of a motorway* **5** not very active; dull: *Business is slow just now.* **6** not good or quick in understanding; dull in mind: *our slowest pupils | I'm sorry I'm so slow today; I didn't get much sleep last night.* | *He's so slow off the mark/slow on the uptake* (=slow in understanding) that you have to repeat the simplest instructions. **7** *slow and steady wins the race* success is gained by steady continuous effort (from the story of the Tortoise and the Hare by AESOP in which the TORTOISE, moving slowly but steadily, wins a race) ➔**ly** *adv*: *The time passed slowly.* | *The project is slowly gathering momentum.* | *We are slowly groping towards an understanding of these things.* ➔**ness** *n* [U]
**slow**² *v* [I;T(UP, DOWN)] to make or become slower: *The train slowed as it went around the bend.* | *Business slows up/down at this time of year.* | *She slowed the car to a crawl.* | *His bad leg slows him down a lot.* ➔ see also SLOWDOWN
**slow**³ *adv* slowly ➔ see also GO-SLOW
**USAGE** **Slowly** is the usual adverb. **Slow** (adv) is rarely used except in combination with other words: *slow-moving traffic*. But the comparative and superlative forms **slower** and **slowest** are just as common as **more slowly** and **most slowly**: *John ran slower/ more slowly than the others and missed the train.*
**,slow 'burn** *n* do a **slow burn** AmE *infml* to slowly get angry: *Tony fumbled the ball and I could see the coach do a slow burn.*
**slow·coach** /ˈsləʊkəʊtʃ/ BrE || **slowpoke** AmE — *n* a person who thinks, moves, or acts slowly: *Hurry up, slowcoach!*
**slow·down** /ˈsləʊdaʊn/ *n* **1** a lessening of speed or activity; slowing down: *a slowdown in economic growth* **2** AmE for GO-SLOW
**,slow 'handclap** *n* BrE a slow clapping (CLAP) action of the hands, showing annoyance or impatience: *The audience were impatient for the show to begin, and started a slow handclap.*
**'slow lane** *n* **1** the part of a large road where vehicles drive more slowly than the other vehicles on the road ➔ compare FAST LANE **2** **in the slow lane** if a company, organization etc is in the slow lane, it is less successful than others: *The country is expected to remain in the slow lane of economic recovery.*
**,slow 'motion** *n* [U] action which takes place at a much slower speed than in real life, especially as shown for special effect in films: *a replay of the athlete's performance in slow motion*
**'slow ,movement** *n* the slow part of a piece of music such as a CONCERTO or SYMPHONY. The slow movement is often the second of four MOVEMENTS.
**'slow ,pitch** *n* [U] AmE a game like SOFTBALL played by teams of men and women together in which the ball is thrown so that it goes high in the air before it enters the area where the hitter is: *Slow pitch leagues are a popular way to socialize.*
**slow·poke** /ˈsləʊpəʊk/ *n* AmE for SLOWCOACH
**,slow-'witted** *adj* slow at understanding things
**slow·worm** /ˈsləʊwɜːm||-wɜːrm/ *n* a small harmless European LIZARD with very small eyes and no legs, that moves like a snake
**SLR** /ˌes el ˈɑːr/ *n* abbrev. for single lens reflex; a type of camera in which the user looks through the same LENS that the camera uses for taking a photograph
**sludge** /slʌdʒ/ *n* [U] **1** soft mud or other dirty matter which settles at the bottom of a liquid: *to clear sludge from the drains* ➔ compare SEDIMENT **2** the mudlike product of SEWAGE treatment **3** dirty waste oil in an engine ➔**sludgy** *adj*