A slot is a narrow opening or groove in something, such as the hole through which you put a coin into a machine or the slot in the door where you hang your keys. The word is also used to refer to a time period when something can take place, such as the time slot reserved for appointments at the post office or the slot in your car where you slot in the seat belt.

In the game of football, a slot receiver is a wide receiver who lines up just inside the line of scrimmage. The position gives them the ability to run routes that go up, in, and out of the formation, and they are often required to have good chemistry with the quarterback in order to be successful. The position also puts them in a spot to block for the running back on outside run plays, as well as pick up blitzes from secondary players.

Slot is also the name of a feature on many modern electronic slot machines, which assigns different probabilities to each symbol on each reel. Rather than using a traditional mechanical switch, the microprocessors that control these slots will “stop” each reel at a certain point in the rotation and then re-align the symbols on the next spin. This gives the appearance to the player that a winning combination was close to hitting, even though the probability is actually much lower. These newer machines are sometimes referred to as “taste” slots, as they will typically pay out a small amount over several pulls to keep the player seated and betting, rather than paying out the minimum over a few spins.