A slot is a specific place in a sentence where the author intends to insert an adjective or other descriptive word. This is analogous to an insertion point in a typewriter, or an area on the screen where text is to be placed.
A slot can also refer to a narrow opening or channel, such as the notch between the tips of the primaries of some birds that helps maintain a steady flow of air over their wings during flight. The term can also be applied to an ice hockey player’s position or advantage, as in “the slot” at the front of the opponent’s goal.
The most common use of the word is in reference to a gambling machine, which accepts coins or paper tickets with barcodes, which are inserted into slots or activated by pushing a button. The machines then display a sequence of random numbers or pictured symbols, including stars, card suits, bars, and various pictured fruits (cherries, plums, oranges, lemons, watermelons, and more). Each symbol has its own payout value, which is determined by the number of matching symbols that line up when the machine stops spinning.
Dixon et al. (2019) have argued that the high frequency of celebratory events in multiline slot-machine play may serve to rein in players’ mind-wandering and induce dark flow, which is a state of enjoyment characterized by attention-capturing intermittent reinforcement. This is a distinct phenomenon from the positive affect experienced in arousal-generating flow, and the authors suggest that this difference accounts for why problems gamblers endorse dark flow more strongly than nonproblem gamblers do.