Library / English Dictionary

SLOUGH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any outer covering that can be shed or cast off (such as the cast-off skin of a snake)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("slough" is a kind of...):

cover; covering; natural covering (a natural object that covers or envelops)

Derivation:

slough (cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A stagnant swamp (especially as part of a bayou)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("slough" is a kind of...):

swamp; swampland (low land that is seasonally flooded; has more woody plants than a marsh and better drainage than a bog)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A hollow filled with mud

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("slough" is a kind of...):

bog; peat bog (wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation; has poorer drainage than a swamp; soil is unfit for cultivation but can be cut and dried and used for fuel)

Derivation:

sloughy ((of soil) soft and watery)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Necrotic tissue; a mortified or gangrenous part or mass

Synonyms:

gangrene; slough; sphacelus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("slough" is a kind of...):

pathology (any deviation from a healthy or normal condition)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "slough"):

cold gangrene; dry gangrene; mumification necrosis; mummification ((pathology) gangrene that develops in the presence of arterial obstruction and is characterized by dryness of the dead tissue and a dark brown color)

clostridial myonecrosis; emphysematous gangrene; emphysematous phlegmon; gangrenous emphysema; gas gangrene; gas phlegmon; progressive emphysematous necrosis ((pathology) a deadly form of gangrene usually caused by clostridium bacteria that produce toxins that cause tissue death; can be used as a bioweapon)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cast off hair, skin, horn, or feathers

Example:

our dog sheds every Spring

Synonyms:

exuviate; molt; moult; shed; slough

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "slough" is one way to...):

cast; cast off; drop; shake off; shed; throw; throw away; throw off (get rid of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "slough"):

desquamate; peel off (peel off in scales)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

slough (any outer covering that can be shed or cast off (such as the cast-off skin of a snake))

sloughing (the process whereby something is shed)

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