sloping

UK: /ˈslɒpɪŋ/

From the verb slope: (⇒ conjugate)

sloping is: ⓘ

v pres p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

slope /sloʊp/   v., sloped, slop•ing, n. 
v. 

1. to (cause to) have an inclined angle;
   slant: [no object]
   The roof sloped sharply upward.
   [~ + object]
   The builder sloped the roof sharply upward.

n. 

2. ground that has a natural incline, such as the side of a hill:
   [countable] the sharp slopes of the hills.
3. [uncountable]
   • slant, esp. downward or upward.
   • the amount or degree of such a slant.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

slope  (slōp), v., sloped, slop•ing, 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. British Terms 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. Mathematics
    • the tangent of the angle between a given straight line and the x- axis of a system of Cartesian coordinates.
    • the derivative of the function whose graph is a given curve evaluated at a designated point.
12. Slang Terms (disparaging and offensive). an Asian, esp. a Vietnamese.

• 1495–1505; aphetic variant of aslope; akin to slip¹

slop′ing•ly, adv. 
slop′ing•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 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.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

slope / sləʊp/ verb

1. to lie or cause to lie at a slanting or oblique angle
2. (intransitive) (esp of natural features) to follow an inclined course: many paths sloped down the hillside
3. (intr; followed by off, away, etc) to go furtively
4. (transitive) (formerly) to hold (a rifle) in the slope position (esp in the command slope arms)

noun

1. an inclined portion of ground
2. (plural) hills or foothills
3. any inclined surface or line
4. the degree or amount of such inclination
5. (of a line) the tangent of the angle between the line and another line parallel to the x-axis
6. (formerly) the position adopted for British military drill when the rifle is rested on the shoulder

Etymology: 15th Century: short for aslope, perhaps from the past participle of Old English āslūpan to slip away, from slūpan to slip

ˈsloper noun

ˈsloping adjective