A narrow depression, notch, slit or aperture, as a keyway in machinery or the slit in a vending machine that accepts coins. Also, a position or time in a group, sequence or schedule. He was assigned to the 9 a.m. slot for the meeting.

The slot> element is part of the Web Components technology suite and acts as a placeholder within a component. It allows you to add your own markup in a specific place, separating it from the component’s global attributes and minimizing its source of truth. This is a super useful technique when designing complex components such as modals, cards and right panels.

Missing your slot can have serious consequences. In a TV newscast for example, no one likes working with a reporter who can’t make “slot.” If you miss your slot, someone else has to step in to cover the story. And you’ll have a hard time finding a job in the future, especially if your co-workers don’t respect you because of it.

The etymology of the word slot is unclear, but it has been suggested that it may have originated from the Dutch word sleutel or slottet, meaning a recess or notch. Other theories include the notion that it represents a hole or gap in a piece of wood, or that it refers to the space between the primaries of certain birds that facilitates air flow during flight. The word was first used in English in the 1920s.