A slot is a narrow opening in something. For example, you can put letters and postcards through the mail slot at the post office. People also use the term to refer to a position in an organization, such as a person who works in an administrative department. You can find more information about these kinds of positions in our article on jobs and careers.
A gambling machine’s pay table is a list of symbols and their values that earn a player wins when they line up on the payline of the machine. The pay tables can be listed on the face of the machine or, on video slots, in a help menu. Some machines allow players to choose the number of paylines they want to bet on, while others automatically wager on all available lines. Choosing the amount of paylines you wish to bet on is called playing a free slot, while betting according to a fixed number of lines is known as a fixed-line slot.
A slot is also the name of a football position in the NFL, and the term is often used to describe the smallest receiver on an offense. The slot receiver, or nickelback, is a smaller receiver that is lined up between the offensive tackle and the wide receiver, and they can run shorter routes on the route tree, such as slants and quick outs. This makes them very difficult for a defense to cover, and they are an important piece in many pass-heavy offenses.