A narrow depression, groove, notch, slit, or opening, especially one for receiving something, as a coin or a letter. Also: a position or time slot in a program or schedule: The newspaper scheduled her to cover the city’s police department in the afternoon slot.

A machine or container for holding items, such as cards or coins, to be used in a gambling game. The earliest slots were operated by pulling a lever to spin reels emblazoned with symbols like diamonds, spades, hearts, and horseshoes. When a specific combination appeared, the machine paid out credits. Modern slot machines use a random number generator (RNG) to select positions for each symbol on the reels, and many have multiple pay lines.

In computer science, a slot is a variable-length data structure that stores values of an object’s attributes or state. It may be used for simple variables such as integers or integer arrays, but can also store objects with a varying number of attributes or states. In addition to storing values, slots can also be used to store pointers or references to other parts of the same object.

The slot properties define how a slot will be displayed in the service center. These properties are described in the Using Slots chapter of the ATG Personalization Programming Guide, but they are especially important when configuring a slot for offer management.

1. a narrow depression, groove, notch, or slit, as a keyway in machinery, the slit for a coin in a vending machine, etc. 2. a narrow opening, place, or position: He had no time for a long talk. 3. a position or time slot in a schedule or program: The station has a new time slot on the radio dial. 4. a compartment or opening in a machine, as for coins: He dropped the coin into the slot.

5. a position in a group, series, or sequence: He is in a good slot for promotion.

The term jackpot first entered the English lexicon in the 19th century as a reference to a poker game variant that required a player to declare a hand of jacks or better to open bidding. It later became a common phrase for describing large prize amounts in games of chance, such as slot machines and lottery games. Its current usage as a reference to any predicament or unfortunate situation is probably an extension of this history. The word is also commonly associated with online gaming and casino sites, where it often refers to the size of a jackpot or the potential for winning a progressive bonus or other incentive. This usage is not recommended by language educators and may be offensive to some readers. For these reasons, the editors have chosen to exclude it from this dictionary.