A slot is a narrow opening or groove, usually with a defined width and depth that runs around the edge of an object. The edges of the slot may be sharp or smooth. Slots can also be found on the ends of shafts or rods, in moldings and other types of construction, in doorjambs, and in a variety of other objects. The slot is often rectangular, but it can be round or square. In addition to slots, some structures have ridges or projections along their length that are called ribs, webs, or flanges.

A specialized slot in a piece of equipment or machinery used to hold a part, such as a handle. A slot may be designed to accept a particular size or type of part, or it may be used to guide and control the flow of material through the machine.

In a slot machine, a pay table is a list of possible payouts based on the symbols that appear on a winning combination. This information is available on the screen of a slot machine and can be easily accessed by clicking the “help” button or by reading the label on the side of the machine. Modern online video slots often have a detailed pay table that shows the probability of triggering certain bonus levels or jackpots by landing specific combinations of symbols.

In BigQuery, a slot is a reserved capacity for processing your data. Purchasing more slots lets you run more concurrent queries and can help your complex queries finish faster. Slots are sold in increments of 2,000 virtual CPUs, and you pay for each slot continuously for as long as it’s deployed.