A position within a group, series or sequence. See also: slot machine, slotted screw, slat, slit, slots, sleuth, and slitting.
A slot is a position in a queue or on a schedule. The term may also be used for a particular time in a calendar, such as noon or midnight. In computer science, a logical position in a file. A slot can be occupied by an object, such as a record or block of data, or an event, such as the start or end of a transaction. The slot is represented by a point in the file or stream, and the object or event is assigned to the slot according to its occurrence in the stream or file.
The slot area of a slot machine displays information about the paytable for that game, including jackpots, symbols and bonus features. It may be permanently displayed on the machine, or – more commonly, in touchscreen machines – a series of interactive images that can be switched through to display all possible outcomes.
An airport slot gives an airline the right to operate at a constrained runway or airspace at certain times. They are allocated by EUROCONTROL as part of its flow management role. This has led to huge savings in terms of delays and fuel burn, as well as major environmental benefits. It is now twenty years since central flow management was introduced in Europe and it is widely adopted worldwide.