A narrow opening into which something else may be fitted. In computer programming, a slot refers to the operation issue and data path machinery surrounding a set of one or more execution units. The term is most often used in very long instruction word (VLIW) computers to refer to a reusable unit of instructions, but it can also be applied to the more general concept of an execute pipeline.

When playing a slot machine, you can win if the symbols on the reels line up with a winning payline. The amount of money you win depends on the number of symbols that match up, and is listed in the pay table displayed on the machine. Some slot machines have more than one payline, and the more lines a machine has, the higher the chance of a player winning.

You’ve checked in on time, made it through security, found your gate and queued up to get on board. But then the captain says, “We’re waiting for a slot.” What does this mean and why is it taking so long?

In ATG Personalization, slots are dynamic placeholders that wait for content or call out to a renderer to fill them. They are used in conjunction with scenarios, which reference a repository item and specify what should appear in the slot, or targeters, which indicate how the contents of the slot should be presented on the page. A slot can be active or passive, and it can have multiple targeters.