slough

[ slou for 1, 2, 4; sloo for 3 ]

/ slaʊ for 1, 2, 4; slu for 3 /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR slough ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an area of soft, muddy ground; swamp or swamplike region.

a hole full of mire, as in a road.

Also slew, slue. Northern U.S. and Canadian. a marshy or reedy pool, pond, inlet, backwater, or the like.

a condition of degradation, despair, or helplessness.

Origin of slough

before 900; Middle English; Old English slōh; cognate with Middle Low German slōch, Middle High German sluoche ditch

Words nearby slough

slotted spoon, slotter, slouch, slouch hat, slouchy, slough, slough off, slovak, slovakia, slovakian, sloven

Definition for slough (2 of 2)

slough ²

or sluff

[ sluhf ]

/ slʌf /

noun

the outer layer of the skin of a snake, which is cast off periodically.

Pathology. a mass or layer of dead tissue separated from the surrounding or underlying tissue.

anything that is shed or cast off.

Cards. a discard.

verb (used without object)

to be or become shed or cast off, as the slough of a snake.

to cast off a slough.

Pathology. to separate from the sound flesh, as a slough.

Cards. to discard a card or cards.

verb (used with object)

to dispose or get rid of; cast (often followed by off): to slough off a bad habit.

to shed as or like a slough.

Cards. to discard (cards).

Verb Phrases

slough over, to treat as slight or trivial: to slough over a friend's mistake.

Origin of slough

1250–1300; Middle English slughe, slouh skin of a snake; cognate with German Schlauch skin, bag

SYNONYMS FOR slough

6 molt.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR slough ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM slough

slough·i·ness, noun slough·y, adjective un·sloughed, adjective un·slough·ing, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for slough

In Sydney it was across the Harbor, in London it was outside the city in Basildon or Slough.

Speed Reading Michael Lewis’s ‘Flash Boys’ |William O’Connor |March 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
A week after the inauguration, his wife, Lady Bird, watched with worry as a “slough of despond” surrounded her husband.

The Mad Men Era: When Hope Was Cheap |Jonathan Darman |March 19, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
You may sail along the river or slough, therefore, for miles, and see only occasional evidences of the embankment.

Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands |Charles Nordhoff
The kitten stalked down to the slough in which Four-Leaf and Clover were making their home.

Swamp Cat |James Arthur Kjelgaard

Hitching those beside the trail, I returned to find Burton seated beside the lame horse, which could not cross the slough.

The Trail of the Goldseekers |Hamlin Garland
In man it continually wears off, in serpents it is shed annually in one slough.

Birds and All Nature, Vol. V, No. 3, March 1899 |Various
The slough was quicksand, and as far as Andy knew, it was bottomless.

Swamp Cat |James Arthur Kjelgaard

British Dictionary definitions for slough (1 of 3)

slough ¹

/ (slaʊ) /

noun

a hollow filled with mud; bog

(sluː) US and Canadian

(in the prairies) a large hole where water collects or the water in such a hole
(in the northwest) a sluggish side channel of a river
(on the Pacific coast) a marshy saltwater inlet

despair or degradation

Derived forms of slough

sloughy, adjective

Word Origin for slough

Old English slōh; related to Middle High German sluoche ditch, Swedish slaga swamp

British Dictionary definitions for slough (2 of 3)

slough ²

/ (slʌf) /

noun

any outer covering that is shed, such as the dead outer layer of the skin of a snake, the cellular debris in a wound, etc

Also: sluff bridge a discarded card

verb

(often foll by off) to shed (a skin, etc) or (of a skin, etc) to be shed

Also: sluff bridge to discard (a card or cards)

Derived forms of slough

sloughy, adjective

Word Origin for slough

C13: of Germanic origin; compare Middle Low German slū husk, German Schlauch hose, Norwegian slō fleshy part of a horn

British Dictionary definitions for slough (3 of 3)

Slough

/ (slaʊ) /

noun

an industrial town in SE central England, in Slough unitary authority, Berkshire; food products, high-tech industries. Pop: 126 276 (2001)

a unitary authority in SE central England, in Berkshire. Pop: 118 800 (2003 est). Area: 28 sq km (11 sq miles)

Medical definitions for slough

slough

[ slŭf ]

n.

A layer or mass of dead tissue separated from surrounding living tissue, as in a wound, a sore, or an inflammation.

v.

To separate from surrounding living tissue. Used of dead tissue.

Scientific definitions for slough

slough

[ slŭf ]

Noun

The dead outer skin shed by a reptile or an amphibian.

Verb

To shed an outer layer of skin.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

slough

noun

Origin of slough

Words nearby slough