A slot is a broad, flat opening on a wooden surface. It is designed for receiving pieces that slide into it, or for an aircraft to enter and leave. Slots can also refer to a job opening, as in a newspaper’s chief copy editor’s office. In aviation, a slot can be an authorized gate, or an opening in an airport’s air-traffic control system. Its other common meanings include:
The word “slot” was first used in 1747. It originally meant “to cut a slot in,” but the sense of “to drop a coin into” appeared in 1888. In the 1940s, the term became more commonly used. In the computer world, a slot is also a location where a disk drive can be installed. The word “slot” is also used in aerospace engineering, where it is often used to describe a section in an airplane’s wing that is opened to improve airflow.
When playing a slot machine, you’ll find a pay table containing the number of credits you’ll receive when a particular combination of symbols lines up. Some symbols are representative of a wide variety of other symbols, so the pay table can be a helpful tool in determining which slot machine to play. Most machines have their pay tables on the face of the machine, with the pay tables underneath the wheels in older machines. On newer models, however, they are located in the “help” menu.
As with any other field in the API, slots in an utterance can contain multiple slots or none at all. A bot can recognize the slots and map them to entities. Depending on the nature of the utterance, built-in slots can be used for describing number of rooms, date, and type of room requested. In addition to slots in utterances, users can add their own slots by clicking on the “Slots” or “Uterance” tabs.
The slot is a versatile position for a wide receiver. The slot receiver lines up in between the offensive tackle and widest receiver. Slot receivers are often quick, so they are well-positioned to catch the football and take handoffs. A slot cornerback usually covers them, as he is smaller and faster than the slot receiver. However, a slot receiver’s primary responsibility is to cover the slot corner and make the offensive tackle’s job easier.