slough: Meaning and Definition of

slough

Pronunciation: (slou for 1, 2, 4 sl&oomacr for 3), [key]
— n.
  1. an area of soft, muddy ground; swamp or swamplike region.
  2. a hole full of mire, as in a road.
  3. and Canadian. a marshy or reedy pool, pond, inlet, backwater, or the like.
  4. a condition of degradation, despair, or helplessness.

slough

Pronunciation: (sluf), [key]
— n.
  1. the outer layer of the skin of a snake, which is cast off periodically.
  2. a mass or layer of dead tissue separated from the surrounding or underlying tissue.
  3. anything that is shed or cast off.
  4. a discard.
—v.i.
  1. to be or become shed or cast off, as the slough of a snake.
  2. to cast off a slough.
  3. to separate from the sound flesh, as a slough.
  4. to discard a card or cards.
—v.t.
  1. to dispose or get rid of; cast (often fol. by off): to slough off a bad habit.
  2. to shed as or like a slough.
  3. to discard (cards).
  4. to treat as slight or trivial: to slough over a friend's mistake.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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