— slopingly , adv. — slopingness , n.
/slohp/ , v. , sloped, sloping , n.
v.i.
1. to have or take an inclined or oblique direction or angle considered with reference to a vertical or horizontal plane; slant.
2. to move at an inclination or obliquely: They sloped gradually westward.
v.t.
3. to direct at a slant or inclination; incline from the horizontal or vertical: The sun sloped its beams.
4. to form with a slope or slant: to slope an embankment.
5. slope off , Chiefly Brit. Slang. to make one's way out slowly or furtively.
n.
6. ground that has a natural incline, as the side of a hill.
7. inclination or slant, esp. downward or upward.
8. deviation from the horizontal or vertical.
9. an inclined surface.
10. Usually, slopes . hills, esp. foothills or bluffs: the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
11. Math.
a. the tangent of the angle between a given straight line and the x- axis of a system of Cartesian coordinates.
b. the derivative of the function whose graph is a given curve evaluated at a designated point.
12. Slang ( disparaging and offensive ). an Asian, esp. a Vietnamese.
[ 1495-1505; aphetic var. of ASLOPE; akin to SLIP 1 ]
Syn. 1. SLOPE, SLANT mean to incline away from a relatively straight surface or line used as a reference. TO SLOPE is to incline vertically in an oblique direction: The ground slopes ( upward or downward ) sharply here. TO SLANT is to fall to one side, to lie obliquely to some line whether horizontal or perpendicular: The road slants off to the right.