slough

¹ American  

[sluhf] / slʌf /

Or sluff

noun

1. the outer layer of the skin of a snake, which is cast off periodically.

2. Pathology. a mass or layer of dead tissue separated from the surrounding or underlying tissue.

3. anything that is shed or cast off.

4. Cards. a discard.

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verb (used without object)

1. to be or become shed or cast off, as the slough of a snake.

2. to cast off a slough.

   Synonyms:

   molt

3. Pathology. to separate from the sound flesh, as a slough.

4. Cards. to discard a card or cards.

verb (used with object)

1. to dispose or get rid of; cast (often followed byoff ).

   to slough off a bad habit.

2. to shed as or like a slough.

3. Cards. to discard (cards).

verb phrase

1. slough over to treat as slight or trivial.

   to slough over a friend's mistake.

slough ² American  

[slou, sloo] / slaʊ, slu /

noun

1. a swamp or swamplike region.

2. Northern U.S. and Canada. Also slew, slue a usually shallow and slow-moving marshy or reedy body of water, such as one that provides drainage; wetland.

3. a hole full of mud or wet soil, such as one in a road.

4. a condition of degradation, despair, or helplessness.

   Exercise was one thing that helped to lift me out of the slough of depression.

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slough ¹ British  

/ slʌf /

noun

1. any outer covering that is shed, such as the dead outer layer of the skin of a snake, the cellular debris in a wound, etc

2. Also: sluff.  bridge a discarded card

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verb

1. (often foll by off) to shed (a skin, etc) or (of a skin, etc) to be shed

2. Also: sluff.  bridge to discard (a card or cards)

slough ² British  

/ slaʊ /

noun

1. a hollow filled with mud; bog

2. 1. (in the prairies) a large hole where water collects or the water in such a hole

   2. (in the northwest) a sluggish side channel of a river

   3. (on the Pacific coast) a marshy saltwater inlet

3. despair or degradation

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Slough ³ British  

/ slaʊ /

noun

1. an industrial town in SE central England, in Slough unitary authority, Berkshire; food products, high-tech industries. Pop: 126 276 (2001)

2. a unitary authority in SE central England, in Berkshire. Pop: 118 800 (2003 est). Area: 28 sq km (11 sq miles)

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slough Scientific  

/ slŭf /

1. The dead outer skin shed by a reptile or an amphibian.

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1. To shed an outer layer of skin.

Other Word Forms

• sloughiness noun
• sloughy adjective
• unsloughed adjective
• unsloughing adjective

Etymology

Origin of slough¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English slough, slugh(e), slouh “skin of a snake”; cognate with Low German sluwe, slu “husk, peel,” German Schlauch “skin, wineskin, bag”

Origin of slough¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English slough(e), slouh(e) “muddy place, mud hole,” Old English slōh, slōg; cognate with Middle Low German slōch, Middle High German sluoche “ditch”; further origin uncertain

Example Sentences

It’s the sort of drill where it’s easy enough to slough off a rep or two.

From Los Angeles Times

Every half-decade or so, Justin Bieber sloughs off the callused skin of the pop superstar he became at age 15 to reveal the tender and quirky R&B singer he’s always been at heart.

From Los Angeles Times

Rather than correct them, Liz decides to keep up the pretense — no great stretch for someone so used to sloughing off and trying on one alias after another.

From Los Angeles Times

The MS Aurora, a 70-year-old cruise ship that inspired TV’s ‘The Love Boat,’ sits abandoned in a slough outside Stockton.

From Los Angeles Times

Aiello, who has monitored environmental conditions at the slough for more than a decade, said he was shocked by the results.

From Los Angeles Times