A narrow notch or opening, as in a machine’s keyway, a slit for coin in a vending machine, or a space in which a car seat belt fits. The word is also used as a term for slot indosat a time or place that is allocated and scheduled, such as a visit to a museum.
In the game of ice hockey, an unmarked area in front of the opposing team’s goal that affords a good vantage for attacking players. Also called a face-off circle.
Among modern slot machines, the term usually refers to a revolving mechanical reel that displays symbols that rotate after the lever is pulled or a bet is made. If the symbols land in specific positions, they can earn a prize or trigger a bonus feature such as free spins or a progressive jackpot level.
While the first slot machines were mechanical, later models used electronic circuitry to control and display their results. Manufacturers programmed them to weigh particular combinations of symbols. Using electronics allowed for far more combinations than the cubic number of possible outcomes on a physical reel (the original three-reel slot machines with 10 symbols on each had only 103 = 1,000 potential winning combinations).
Many slot games have a pay table that lists information about the payout amounts for specific symbol combinations and some or all of the game’s theme rules. This may be permanently displayed on the machine itself or, as is more common with touchscreen displays, a series of images that can be switched between to view every possible combination.