A narrow notch, groove or opening, such as a keyway in a piece of machinery or the slit for a coin in a vending machine. Also: a position in a group, series or sequence. From Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright
A slot is a specific space in the slit of a typewriter or printer in which one or more characters can be inserted to form a word. Slots are used for printing words and numbers as well as for special symbols. Typically, there are one or more slots available for each letter. There are also several types of slots in a computer or other device.
In gambling, a slot is a specific space in a reel that can be occupied by a particular symbol. The number of slots and the number of possible symbols vary from game to game. The probability that a particular symbol will appear on the reel is determined by its arrangement and the probability that other symbols will line up to complete a winning combination.
In the context of airport coordination, a slot is an authorization for a plane to take off or land at a particular airport during a specified time period. It is commonly used in Europe to manage congestion at busy airports and prevent repeated delays caused by too many flights trying to take off or land at the same time.