A slot is a grammatical term that includes data paths and operation issue machinery. This term is very common in VLIW world, where the relationship between a specific operation in an instruction and the pipeline used to execute it is either explicit or implicit. The word is also used to refer to a position on a copy desk. In a newspaper, a slot is occupied by the chief copy editor. The term “slot” also refers to a slot authorized by an air traffic authority or an airport.

A slot can contain multiple values, or none at all. If there are multiple slots in an utterance, the bot will map them to corresponding entities. For example, a customer may request information on the number of rooms required, the number of nights, or the type of room they need. Alternatively, the user may use custom slots and map them to entities such as a location. The utterance can be added to the bot from the Uterance or Slots tabs. Then, he/she can enter the name of the slot they are trying to map to.

The term “slot” is from the late 14c. and means “hollow at the base of the throat, above the breastbone.” It derives from the Old French esclot, and is of uncertain origin. In Old Norse, slod is the term for “hole” and is a synonym for “slot.” The meaning of “slot” is recorded in the 1520s, and its use as a verb dates to the 1880s.