A position within a group, series or sequence.

When you’ve checked in, made it through security and gotten to the gate, queued to get on board and settled into your seat, all that remains before you take off is to wait for your slot. It’s a term that originated in electromechanical slot machines, where the door switches (or reel motors) would make or break a circuit depending on their state, causing the machine to malfunction.

In modern video slot machines, microprocessors allow manufacturers to weight particular symbols so that the probability of them appearing on a payline is disproportionate to their actual frequency on the physical reel. This allows the machine to display winning lines more frequently, and it also means that a single symbol could appear on multiple positions on a given reel.

The machine’s pay table is displayed above or below the area containing the reels and lists how much a player can win if the symbols listed match up on the pay line. In addition to displaying the number of symbols that are required for a win, the pay table will also note which symbols are wild and can substitute for other symbols to complete a line.

In business, the concept of a time slot can be used to organize workflow, deadlines and events. For example, scheduling meetings according to specific time slots encourages open communication between teams and departments, while ensuring that everyone is aware of their availability for critical tasks.