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Synonyms

slat

1 American  
[slat] / slæt /

noun

  1. a long thin, narrow strip of wood, metal, etc., used as a support for a bed, as one of the horizontal laths of a Venetian blind, etc.

  2. Aeronautics. a control surface along the leading edge of a wing that can be extended forward to create a gap slot to improve airflow.

  3. Slang. slats,

    1. the ribs.

    2. the buttocks.

    3. Slats, a nickname for a tall, slender man.

verb (used with object)

slatted, slatting

  1. to furnish or make with slats

slat 2 American  
[slat] / slæt /

verb (used with object)

slatted, slatting

  1. to throw or dash with force.

verb (used without object)

slatted, slatting

  1. to flap violently, as sails.

noun

  1. a slap; a sharp blow.

slat 1 British  
/ slæt /

noun

  1. a narrow thin strip of wood or metal, as used in a Venetian blind, etc

  2. a movable or fixed auxiliary aerofoil attached to the leading edge of an aircraft wing to increase lift, esp during landing and takeoff

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to provide with slats

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
slat 2 British  
/ slæt /

verb

  1. (tr) to throw violently; fling carelessly

  2. (intr) to flap violently

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a sudden blow

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
slat 3 British  
/ slæt /

noun

  1. a spent salmon

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of slat1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English sclat, slat(te “a roofing tile, slate,” from Middle French esclat “splinter, chip”; éclat

Origin of slat2

First recorded in 1200–50; of obscure origin; possibly from Old Norse sletta “to slap, splash”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Season 3 ends with a small portion of its people reunited in a grandly staged gathering that holds the spiritual punch of bolting one more slat into place along that franchise bridge.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2023

He had the slat fence removed and reconfigured it, turning it into supports for paintings.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2023

How would I cope if I heard my daughters bawling but was powerless to hold and assure them, and could speak only through the bottom slat of the basement door or through the kids’ walkie-talkies?

From Washington Post • Mar. 31, 2020

“Because what a barrier does, it’s still the same thing. It’s the 30-foot steel slat, that’s a barrier.”

From Seattle Times • Jan. 29, 2019

Squeezing through a missing slat in a mossy fence, we found ourselves at the bottom of a lumpy lawn.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.