A narrow opening, a hole or groove, into which something fits, such as a keyway in a piece of machinery or a slit for a coin in a vending machine. The word is also used to refer to a position in a group, series, or sequence. To slot something in means to assign it a place in a schedule or plan: I can slot you in at 2 p.m.
In aviation, a time allocation for aircraft take-offs and landings at an airport. Air traffic controllers use slots to manage busy airports and prevent repeated delays caused by too many planes attempting to land or take off at the same time.
The game of slots is a type of gambling machine that uses reels to display symbols and determine winners. Modern slot machines may have one, three, or five paylines, and some even have more than 100 different possible combinations of symbols. The symbols usually vary according to the theme of a particular machine. Often, they will include classic icons such as fruits and stylized lucky sevens.
In addition to the traditional mechanical elements, some slot games have a virtual reel and a touchscreen interface. The latter is more popular with younger players, and allows them to interact with the game using a natural hand gesture instead of pressing a physical button. In some cases, the screen will offer a bonus level or jackpot when certain conditions are met.