slat

/slæt/

//slæt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"slat" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“slat” is uncommon English (frequency #63,253 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#63,253
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A thin, narrow strip or bar of wood (lath), metal, or plastic.

Key facts for slat
PropertyValue
Headwordslat
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/slæt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#63,253
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “slat” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). slat lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

slat is uncommon English at frequency #63,253 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /slæt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for slat, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English slatte, sklatte, sklat, sclat, from Old French esclat (“piece broken or split off, shiver, splinter”), from Old French esclater (“to split, burst”), from Frankish *slaitijan (“to split, break”), from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to rend, sp… The correct English form is slat, spelled S-L-A-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thin, narrow strip or bar of wood (lath), metal, or plastic.
  2. 2
    A control surface that extends forwards and downwards from the leading edge of a wing, leaving a gap between it and the leading edge, in order to modify the airflow around the wing so as to allow flight at a higher angle of attack without stalling, lowering the aircraft's stall speed.
  3. 3
    A ski.
  4. 4
    A thin piece of stone; a slate.
  5. 5
    A drop (of rain or water), a splash.

Etymology

From Middle English slatte, sklatte, sklat, sclat, from Old French esclat (“piece broken or split off, shiver, splinter”), from Old French esclater (“to split, burst”), from Frankish *slaitijan (“to split, break”), from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to rend, split”). Doublet of slate and éclat.

This word in other languages

palette(Français)Leiste(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "slat"?
"slat" is spelled S-L-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is /slæt/.
What does "slat" mean?
As a noun, "slat" means: A thin, narrow strip or bar of wood (lath), metal, or plastic.
How do you pronounce "slat"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "slat" is /slæt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "slat"?
From Middle English slatte, sklatte, sklat, sclat, from Old French esclat (“piece broken or split off, shiver, splinter”), from Old French esclater (“to split, burst”), from Frankish *slaitijan (“to split, break”), from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“t... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “slat”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-L-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /slæt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list