noun
definition
The skin shed by a snake or other reptile.
example
That is the slough of a rattler; we must be careful.
definition
Dead skin on a sore or ulcer.
example
This is the slough that came off of his skin after the burn.
verb
definition
To shed (skin).
example
Snakes slough their skin periodically.
definition
To slide off (like a layer of skin).
example
A week after he was burned, a layer of skin on his arm sloughed off.
definition
To discard.
example
East sloughed a heart.
definition
(Western US) To commit truancy, be absent from school without permission. (compare ditch)
example
"Dude, Kaydn and Jarom are totally sloughing today!"
noun
definition
A muddy or marshy area.
definition
(Eastern United States) A type of swamp or shallow lake system, typically formed as or by the backwater of a larger waterway, similar to a bayou with trees.
example
We paddled under a canopy of trees through the slough.
definition
(Western United States) A secondary channel of a river delta, usually flushed by the tide.
definition
A state of depression.
example
John is in a slough.
definition
A small pond, often alkaline, many but not all formed by glacial potholes.
example
Potholes or sloughs formed by a glacier’s retreat from the central plains of North America, are now known to be some of the world’s most productive ecosystems.