# slate

> English word · Noun · IPA /sleɪt/ · frequency rank #9,397

## Definitions
1. A flake or piece of certain types of stone that tend to cleave into thin layers.
2. A flake or piece of certain types of stone that tend to cleave into thin layers.
3. A generally rectangular piece, originally of certain types of stone and now of other materials, often in a frame, used for writing on with a thin rod of the same or another stone (a slate pencil) or with chalk; a small chalkboard.
4. Synonym of tablet computer (“a hand-held portable computer in the form of a tablet with a touch screen interface”).
5. Synonym of clapperboard (“a device consisting of a board on which information about a film being recorded is noted, and a hinged piece which is brought down on the board with a clap at the start and end of each take of the film; it is used to synchronize picture and sound during editing”).
6. Synonym of clapperboard (“a device consisting of a board on which information about a film being recorded is noted, and a hinged piece which is brought down on the board with a clap at the start and end of each take of the film; it is used to synchronize picture and sound during editing”).
7. A record, for example, of money owed.
8. A range of things; also, a schedule.
9. A collection of films released during a certain period, either from one studio or from a certain film industry (such as Hollywood) as a whole.
10. A group or list of candidates for appointment or election to an office; also, a group of candidates or electors with affiliated political views.
11. A fine-grained homogeneous sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash which has been metamorphosed so that it cleaves easily into thin layers.
12. A fine-grained homogeneous sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash which has been metamorphosed so that it cleaves easily into thin layers.

## Etymology
The noun is derived from Middle English sclate, slat, slate (“type of rock; roofing slate; writing slate”), from Old French esclate, a feminine form of esclat (“broken piece, shard”) (modern French éclat), from Old French esclater (“to break, shatter”), from Frankish *slaitijan (“to split, break”), from Proto-Germanic *slaitijaną, the causative of *slītaną (“to cut up, split”); further etymology unknown (see the Proto-Germanic entry for a discussion). Doublet of éclat and slat.
The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.

## Easily confused with
- **SLE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-sle)
- **slot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-slot)
- **stat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-stat)
- **slut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-slut)
- **slit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-slit)
- **SWAT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-swat)
- **slay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-slay)
- **spat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-spat)
- **Slav** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-slav)
- **slaw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-slaw)
- **state** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-state)
- **space** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-space)
- **stage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-stage)
- **stats** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-stats)
- **slave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-slave)
- **slide** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-slide)
- **spare** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-spare)
- **snake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-snake)
- **suite** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-suite)
- **stake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slate-vs-stake)

## Common misspellings (7)
`lsate`, `salte`, `slaet`, `slatte`, `sllate`, `sltae`, `sslate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/slate