[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/slate/)

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# slate

noun (slate, a slate, slates); verb (slate, slates, slated, slating)

«slate» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Slate is a hard dark grey rock that splits into thin flat sheets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#m1)
2. A slate is a thin piece of this rock used to cover a roof, or in the past for children to write on with chalk. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#m2)
3. A slate is a list of candidates or a plan of things, as in «a slate of films». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#m3)
4. (UK, informal) To slate something means to criticise it very harshly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#m4)
5. (mostly US) To be slated for something means it is planned or expected. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#m5)
6. A clean slate means a fresh start where past mistakes are forgotten. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#m6)

### In the lessons

In science it is a metamorphic rock made from shale; in history, Victorian children wrote on slates; in Wales slate quarries are famous; in news and reviews, «slated» means badly criticised (UK) or scheduled (US); phrases: clean slate, wipe the slate clean, on the slate (old: on credit).

### Examples

- The old cottage has a slate roof. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#x1)
- Victorian children wrote sums on slates with chalk. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#x2)
- Slate is made when shale is squeezed and heated. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#x3)
- A slate fell off the roof in the storm. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#x4)
- Critics slated the new film. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#x5)
- The new library is slated to open next spring. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#x6)
- Let's wipe the slate clean and be friends again. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#x7)
- The coach picked a strong slate of players. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#x8)
- As Uncle Remus came up Whitehall Street recently, he met a little colored boy carrying a slate and a number of books. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/#x9)

### Note

Countable when it means a roof tile or writing tablet («a slate»), uncountable as the rock («made of slate»). Watch the two different meanings of «slated»: UK «badly criticised», US «planned». Do not confuse with «shale» or «state».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «slate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/slate/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«slate» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/slate.html) on Mova free.