A narrow notch, groove or opening, such as a keyway in machinery, a slit for a coin in a vending machine, or an opening in an aircraft fuselage.
In computer science, a slot (plural: slots) is an operating system mechanism that provides a connection between an operation in the instruction pipeline and the data path machinery for its execution. The term is also used in very long instruction word (VLIW) computers to describe a functional unit that shares resources with other functional units.
Unlike blackjack and poker, where skill can increase your odds of winning, there is no real strategy to playing slots. The only way to avoid a big loss is to have discipline and limit your bet size to a predetermined percentage of your total bankroll. It is also helpful to set a win goal, a point at which you will stop gambling and cash out your profits, even if you are still in the red. This will prevent you from chasing your losses and burning your bankroll.
In football, a slot receiver is an offensive player who lines up close to the line of scrimmage and runs routes that correspond with other receivers in order to confuse the defense. In doing so, they are in a position to block for the running back on sweeps and slants, but they also face the possibility of being hit from several angles. This makes slot receivers especially susceptible to injury.