A slot is a narrow, elongated depression, groove, notch, slit, or aperture, especially one for receiving something, such as a coin or letter. Also, an allocated or scheduled time for a takeoff or landing at an airport, as authorized by an air-traffic controller.

In sports, a slot is an area on the field occupied by a wide receiver who runs shorter routes on the route tree, such as slants and quick outs. Slot receivers are becoming increasingly important to teams, as they can stretch the defense vertically with their speed. In addition, they can be a deep threat and provide the team with a versatile receiving option.

The term “slot” can also refer to a position in a group, series, sequence, or organization: the job of chief copy editor, for example; the interior opening between the face-off circles on an ice hockey rink. It can also mean a particular time or place: The program received a new slot on the broadcasting schedule. Finally, it can also refer to a specific grammatical function in a construction: He slotted the word into the blank.

Many modern slot machines have multiple paylines, which allow gamblers to bet more than a single penny per spin. This is more profitable than the original mechanical slots, which required players to bet a certain number of coins in order to win a jackpot. Regardless of how many paylines the machine has, however, a player’s chances of winning the jackpot are still calculated according to the same formula.

A slot is also the name of a feature on a computer motherboard that can be used to add expansion cards, such as an ISA, PCI, or AGP slot. Each slot has a unique address that is assigned by the manufacturer, and it can be enabled or disabled depending on the needs of the system. The number of slots available on a motherboard can vary between different manufacturers, but they are all designed to accommodate the same type of expansion card.

During the early days of electromechanical slot machines, a candle on the top of the machine was lit when the door switch was tampered with or a technical problem was detected, such as a reel motor failure or out of paper. While modern video slot machines no longer use tilt switches, any kind of technical problem that causes the machine to stop paying out will still be referred to as a slot malfunction.

A slot is a specific position on the board in a chess game that can be occupied by a piece. A king is the most valuable piece, and it has special rules for moving and protecting it. There are several types of king moves, and each has its own purpose. Some of these moves include castling, transferring the king into the slot, and capturing the king with a check. In addition to these common king moves, there are also several other specialized moves that can be used to win a chess game.