slant

English

Etymology

Late Middle English, from a variant of the earlier form dialectical slent, from Old Norse or another North Germanic source, cognate with Old Norse slent, Swedish slinta (“to slip”), Norwegian slenta (“to fall on the side”), from Proto-Germanic *slintaną. Probably influenced by aslant.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈslɑːnt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈslænt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

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• Hyphenation: slant
• Rhymes: -ænt, -ɑːnt

Noun

slant (plural slants)

1. A slope; an incline, inclination.

   The house was built on a bit of a slant and was never quite level.

2. A sloped surface or line.
3. (mining) A run: a heading driven diagonally between the dip and strike of a coal seam.
4. (typography) Synonym of slash ⟨ / ⟩, particularly in its use to set off pronunciations from other text.
   • [1965, Dmitri A. Borgmann, Language on Vacation, page 240:

     Initial inquiries among professional typists uncover names like slant, slant line, slash, and slash mark. Examination of typing instruction manuals discloses additional names such as diagonal and diagonal mark, and other sources provide the designation oblique.]

5. An oblique movement or course.
6. (biology) A sloping surface in a culture medium.
7. A pan with a sloped bottom used for holding paintbrushes.
8. A depression on a palette with a sloping bottom for holding and mixing watercolours.
9. A palette or similar container with slants or sloping depressions.
10. (US, obsolete) A sarcastic remark; shade, an indirect mocking insult.
11. (slang) An opportunity, particularly to go somewhere.
12. (Australia, slang) A crime committed for the purpose of being apprehended and transported to a major settlement.
13. (originally US) A point of view, an angle.

    Synonym: bias

    It was a well written article, but it had a bit of a leftist slant.

14. (US) A look, a glance.
    • 1916 March 11, Charles E. Van Loan, “His Folks”, in Saturday Evening Post‎^[1]:

      All batters looked alike to him—I don't believe he ever took a slant at the averages;

    • 1920 June, The Electrical Experimenter, New York, page 213, column 1:

      `What do you want?' `Just a slant at the weapon,' said Fenner.

15. (US, ethnic slur, derogatory) A person with slanting eyes, particularly an East Asian.

Synonyms

• (typography): See slash

Derived terms

• downslant
• rough slant
• slant bar
• slant distance
• slant-eyed
• slant height
• slant line
• slant of wind
• slant range
• slant rhyme
• slant sight

Related terms

• slent

Translations

slope or incline

• Bulgarian: накло́н (bg) m (naklón)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 斜坡 (zh) (xiépō)

• Czech: sklon (cs) m, svah (cs) m, spád m
• Finnish: rinne (fi)
• French: biais (fr) f
• German: Schräge f, Hang (de) m, Abhang (de) m, schiefe Ebene (de) f, Neigung (de) f, Steigung (de) f
• Greek: κλίση (el) f (klísi)

  Ancient: κλίσις f (klísis)

• Irish: maig (ga) f
• Italian: pendenza (it) f, inclinazione (it) f, pendio (it) m
• Korean: 경사 (ko) (gyeongsa)
• Plautdietsch: Schrozinj f
• Portuguese: inclinação (pt) f
• Russian: укло́н (ru) m (uklón), накло́н (ru) m (naklón), склон (ru) m (sklon), скос (ru) m (skos), косина́ (ru) f (kosiná)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: nagib (sh) m, kosina (sh) f

• Slovak: sklon m
• Spanish: inclinación (es) f
• Turkish: eğiklik (tr)

sloped surface or line

• Bulgarian: склон (bg) m (sklon)
• Czech: zkosení n, pokos m, okos m
• Finnish: kalteva pinta (surface); vinoviiva (fi) (line), kaltevuus (fi), vietto (fi)
• German: Schräge f, Hang (de) m, Abhang (de) m, Neigung (de) f, schiefe Ebene (de) f; schräg verlaufende Linie f

mining: run

• Finnish: vinotunneli

typography: slash — see slash

oblique movement or course

• Finnish: vinottainen liike

biology: sloping surface in a culture medium

• Finnish: kalteva pinta, kalteva alusta

pan for holding paintbrushes

• Finnish: teline (fi)

depression with sloping bottom to hold watercolors

• Finnish: kalteva lokero
• German: Näpfchen (de) n

sarcastic remark; indirect mocking insult

• Finnish: vinoilu (fi)
• German: Seitenhieb (de) m

slang: opportunity

• Finnish: sauma (fi)

type of crime

• Finnish: not used in Finnish

bias

• Bulgarian: склонност (bg) f (sklonnost)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 偏見／偏见 (zh) (piānjiàn)

• Finnish: näkökulma (fi), asenne (fi), tulokulma (fi), tendenssi (fi)
• French: connotation (fr) f
• German: Tendenz (de) f, Neigung (de) f, Ausrichtung (de) f, Richtung (de) f
• Greek: προκατάληψη (el) f (prokatálipsi)
• Italian: tendenza (it) f, angolatura (it) f
• Russian: укло́н (ru) m (uklón), тенде́нция (ru) f (tɛndɛ́ncija)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: nagib (sh) m, kosina (sh) f

look, glance

• Bulgarian: кос поглед m (kos pogled)
• Finnish: silmäys (fi)
• German: Blick (de) m

pejorative: person of Asian descent — see gook

Verb

slant (third-person singular simple present slants, present participle slanting, simple past and past participle slanted)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To lean, tilt or incline.

   If you slant the track a little more, the marble will roll down it faster.

   • 1753, Robert Dodsley, Agriculture:

     On the side of yonder slanting hill

2. (transitive) To bias or skew.

   The group tends to slant its policies in favor of the big businesses it serves.

3. (Scotland, intransitive) To lie or exaggerate.

Related terms

• aslant
• slent

Translations

to lean, slope or incline

• Bulgarian: накланям (bg) (naklanjam)
• Czech: sklonit pf (se), naklonit (cs) pf (se), sklánět impf (se), naklánět impf (se)
• Finnish: viettää (fi)
• French: incliner (fr), pencher (fr)
• German: abschrägen (de), neigen (de)
• Greek: κλίνω (el) (klíno), γέρνω (el) (gérno)

  Ancient: κλίνω (klínō)

• Italian: inclinare (it), pendere (it)
• Maori: tītaha, honga
• Russian: наклоня́ть (ru) impf (naklonjátʹ), наклони́ть (ru) pf (naklonítʹ)
• Turkish: eğikleşmek, eğmek (tr)

to bias or skew

• Czech: zkreslit pf, překroutit pf
• Finnish: painottaa (fi), suunnata (fi)
• French: biaiser (fr)
• German: einseitig ausrichten
• Serbo-Croatian: naginjati (sh)

Adjective

slant

1. Sloping; oblique; slanted.
   • 1797, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Destiny of Nations:

     The Laplander beholds the far-off Sun
     Dart his slant beam on unobeying snows, […]

   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXX, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 308:

     A slant ray of golden sunshine entered the chamber; it drew nearer and nearer as the hour went by, till it fell on Guido's bed.

   • 2015, Michael Z. Williamson, A Long Time Until Now:

     By the eighth day, Alexander and Caswell had lashed together a hut with a slant roof […]

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.

Anagrams

• lants

Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

slant c

1. a (less valuable) coin
2. (by extension) a sum of money, a penny

   kosta en rejäl slant

   cost a pretty penny

Declension

Declension of slant

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	slant	slants
	definite	slanten	slantens
plural	indefinite	slantar	slantars
	definite	slantarna	slantarnas

Derived terms

• för hela slanten
• hålla i slantarna
• singla slant

Verb

slant

1. past indicative of slinta

References

• slant in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• slant in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• slant in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)