slate
part of speech
noun (slate, a slate, slates); verb (slate, slates, slated, slating)
meaning for a pupil
1) Slate is a hard dark grey rock that splits into thin flat sheets. tree →
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 →
3) A slate is a list of candidates or a plan of things, as in «a slate of films». tree →
4) (UK, informal) To slate something means to criticise it very harshly. tree →
5) (mostly US) To be slated for something means it is planned or expected. tree →
6) A clean slate means a fresh start where past mistakes are forgotten. tree →
sense 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 →
- Victorian children wrote sums on slates with chalk. tree →
- Slate is made when shale is squeezed and heated. tree →
- A slate fell off the roof in the storm. tree →
- Critics slated the new film. tree →
- The new library is slated to open next spring. tree →
- Let's wipe the slate clean and be friends again. tree →
- The coach picked a strong slate of players. tree →
- As Uncle Remus came up Whitehall Street recently, he met a little colored boy carrying a slate and a number of books. tree →
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».
In the corpora
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «slate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.