What is a Slot?

The slot is a hockey term used to describe the area between the face-off circles in the offensive zone. The term has several different meanings, including “to make or provide a slot for.” A noun’s first sense was “to drop something into a slot” (1888), while the sense of “to take a position in a slot” (circa 1940) appears later. Today, the most common use of the term is to describe the space between the face-off circles.

The basic concept of a slot machine is simple: the paytable lists the credits that players can win if certain symbols line up. Many of these symbols represent a variety of other symbols. Pay tables are listed on the face of the machine, either above or below the wheels. Modern video slot machines include pay tables in the help menu. Alternatively, you can view the pay tables on the machine’s website. Regardless of the pay table on a slot machine, it is important to understand what symbols are available and which ones are not.

The word “slot” is derived from the Middle Dutch language. It is also related to Old Norse slot, Old High German sloz, and Old Frisian slut. Its definition reflects its origin in the Proto-Germanic stem *slut “to close” and the PIE root *klau “hook.” The word was used in both English and French as a synonym of peg.