What Is a Slot?

A slot is an opening or position for receiving something, such as a coin or letter. A slot can also be a place in a sequence or series of events. In sports, a slot is the unmarked area in front of the goal between the face-off circles on an ice hockey rink. A slot can also refer to the position of a football receiver, usually the 3rd string player who catches passes on passing downs.

A traditional slot machine has a pay table, which is an informational guide that lets players see what combinations of symbols payout and how many credits are awarded per spin. This table is usually located near the bottom of the machine and may feature rows and columns that display various combinations. The top of the pay table typically displays higher payouts, with lower combinations moving down toward the center. Some online slots have a similar table that can be accessed by clicking an icon on the game screen.

Some slot machines offer progressive jackpots, which increase with each wager placed on the machine. These jackpots are typically displayed on-screen and can reach millions of dollars in size. These progressive jackpots can be very attractive to players, but they are not as lucrative as a single large payout from a fixed-odds machine.

The term “slot” is also used to refer to a computer memory location where an operating system stores program code for execution. A computer motherboard may contain multiple expansion slots for adding extra RAM, hard disk drives, or other components. A slot can also be used to describe a specific type of port on a device, such as a USB, firewire, or Thunderbolt connector.

In addition to built-in slot types, a bot can recognize synonyms for any slot. To add a synonym, select the corresponding option in the Synonyms dialog box. Then enter the alternative name in the input field and press Enter. The new name will be mapped to the slot when the bot recognizes the original word or phrase in an utterance.

The number of rooms required, the dates of the stay, and the type of room requested can all be mapped to different slot types. By default, these slot types are labeled as Room, Dates, and Executive. In some cases, you can add additional slot types by selecting them from the Slots tab in the Utterance Editor or by adding a “Slot” attribute to an utterance. By specifying the slot type in this manner, you can make it easier for the bot to understand your request.