A narrow notch, groove, or opening, as a keyway in a piece of machinery or a slit for a coin in a slot machine. Also: an aircraft wing or tail surface opening used for a high-lift or control device.

A notch or groove in a piece of wood or other material that allows it to fit snugly into another part. A place in a row or list where one more item can be added.

An area of a computer or other electronic device that stores data. A disk drive or memory chip is often called a slot. A software program that creates a file for storage in a specific format is referred to as a slot.

In the past, a slot was a mechanical device that spun reels and paid out winning combinations when the right symbols lined up on a pay table. Today, most people know slots as a type of casino game that uses random number generators to produce winning combinations.

Although the odds of hitting a specific combination appear to be random, it is possible for casinos to adjust the probability of a win in order to make certain machines more or less profitable from a statistical standpoint. For example, some casinos claim that their slot machines tend to pay out more at night. However, the truth is that each spin of the reels has an equal chance of producing a winning combination. The wiggle of the reels simply means that more people are playing them, not that they are due to hit soon.