How to use slate in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, adjective, verb

Slate means a piece of such stone, usually cut into a rectangular shape, used as a tile for flooring, roofing, etc.; (uncountable) such tiles collectively, or the material from which they are made. Example: “Put it on my slate—I’ll pay you next week.”

Examples of slate by meaning

nounA piece of such stone, usually cut into a rectangular shape, used as a tile for flooring, roofing, etc.; (uncountable)...

Dalston, are enjoying a miniature boom owing to the demand for slate for the repair of damaged roofs.1941 March, “Notes and News: The Demand for Slate”, in Railway Magazine, page 141
In 1765 only 80 men were employed, and the annual output of slates did not exceed 1,000 tons, and large-scale quarrying was not begun by Lord Penrhyn until 1782.1945 May and June, Charles E. Lee, “The Penrhyn Railway and its Locomotives—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 138
The necessary works were extensive and included replacing missing and damaged slates and other roof repairs (in order to make the building watertight), pointing and drainpipe replacement, and extensive replacement of rotten floorboarding.2021 December 15, Robin Leleux, “Awards honour the best restoration projects: The Southeastern Commercial Restoration Award: Appledore”, in...

nounA generally rectangular piece, originally of certain types of stone and now of other materials, often in a frame, used...

He wrote all down one side of the slate and all up the other, and then remarked--"As there's no time to finish that, The time has come to have our chat."1918, Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 12

nounA record, for example, of money owed.

Put it on my slate—I’ll pay you next week.

nounA range of things; also, a schedule.

The Chairman James Kaplan tended to his busy slate of record and film projects, while Mia, too, actively sought movie work, somewhat to her husband's chagrin.2015 October 29, James Kaplan, Sinatra: The Chairman, Hachette UK, →ISBN
If it sounds like an impossibly busy slate, it turned out to be just that.2017 September 22, Douglass K. Daniel, Anne Bancroft: A Life, University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN

nounA collection of films released during a certain period, either from one studio or from a certain film industry (such as...

Like many independents that have established a strong if narrow niche, Central Park says it prospers when "A" titles are in short supply, but Pascuzzi much prefers a crowded slate because of trickle-down economics.1998 July 11, “Sell-Through Survival Guide”, in Billboard, page 55
This overcrowded blockbuster slate has led to the death of the respectable mid-budget movie, which has arguably migrated to prestige television along with writers, directors and actors.2018 October 24, Darren Mooney, Christopher Nolan: A Critical Study of the Films, McFarland, →ISBN, page 86

nounA group or list of candidates for appointment or election to an office; also, a group of candidates or electors with...

They prepared a procommission slate that would ensure a smooth transition of power, but for political reasons Mayor Jones and the council refused to call the election.2014, Bradley Robert Rice, Progressive Cities (page 13)

nounA fine-grained homogeneous sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash which has been metamorphosed so that it...

The Penrhyn slate quarry possibly dates back to the sixteenth century, as it appears that in 1580 Sion Tudor asked the Bishop of Bangor for a shipload of slate.1945 May and June, Charles E. Lee, “The Penrhyn Railway and its Locomotives—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 138

verbTo cover (a building, or part of a building such as a floor or roof) with slates (noun etymology 1, noun sense 1.1).

The old church ledgers show that the roof was slated in 1775.

More sentences with slate

The tractor plant is slated for the axe.From the entry axe
The store, which is slated to open next month, increases the company's footprint in the market to 14 locations.From the entry footprint
The tractor plant is slated for the ax.From the entry slated
The grufted, gimcracky chateau was constructed with variegated stone block walls, oak floors, and a slate roof.2020, Monuments in the Dusk, Wilyem Clark, page 112. From the entry grufted
This wouldn't wipe the slate, but would show he was still in the game.2010, Mick Herron, Slow Horses, page 246. From the entry in the game
A blue silver tabby has paw pads and nose leather to be dark blue to slate grey.2009, Elektra Hammond, Bengals Illustrated: The Christmas issue, October-December 2009. From the entry nose leather
She would have been compelled for each service to write the (constantly changing) text on a slate.2004, Wybren Scheepsma, Medieval Religious Women in the Low Countries, page 66. From the entry choirbook
Philp squinted up at the slate gray clouds scudding in from the Bay.2001, Andrea Pickens, A Diamond in the Rough, Signet Book (a golf novel), page 34. From the entry twock
Nail the tingle to the sheathing between the two slates below the one being fixed .1992, Derek Bradford, Key Porter Books, Mike Lawrence, The Complete Home Renovation Manual, page 54. From the entry tingle
Univision now has an entire Saturday morning slate of cartoons and kidvids.1987, Adweek, volume 37, numbers 47-59. From the entry kidvid
Upper Corris, 1 mile to the north-west, is overlooked by abandoned slate workings.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 135, about Corris. From the entry Upper Corris
Slate roofed and with liver-painted eaves, it stood in a weedy firbound garden.1961, William Sansom, The Last Hours of Sandra Lee, page 229. From the entry firbound
Canadian porcupines may have coats varying from almost black to grizzled brown or "tweedy" slate.1958, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Game News, volume 29, page 99. From the entry Canadian porcupine
The hill went up abruptly above the roofs, and the slates shining looked like sealskin.1956, Gwyn Jones, Welsh Short Stories, page 61. From the entry pigscot
The ash represents the more incombustible mineral matter, usually of the nature of clay or slate.1921, Charles Kenneth Leith, The Economic Aspect of Geology, page 124. From the entry incombustible
Anne had brought her slate down on Gilbert's head and cracked it—slate, not head—clear across.1908 June, L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery, “A Tempest in the School Teapot”, in Anne of Green Gables, Boston, Mass.: L[ouis] C[oues] Page &…. From the entry thwack
Or do we enter the world as blank slates, formed only by what we encounter in our homes and beyond?2025 March 13, Dalton Conley, “A New Scientific Field Is Recasting Who We Are and How We Got That Way”, in New York Times. From the entry hereditarian
An artist dubbed the Borrowdale Banksy has created this slate work on a Lake District fell after past efforts were vandalised.2023 June 29, Metro, London, page 15, column 3. From the entry fell
With that record of revisionist chutzpah it is easy to see why Truss thinks she can wipe the slate clean.2022 August 3, Rafael Behr, “Johnson’s school of half-truths could spell victory for Truss”, in The Guardian, page 2. From the entry Trussian
Thirteen houses were damaged beyond repair, and much of the rest of the town suffered broken windows and lost slates.2020 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43. From the entry repair
So I acquiesce, I say "alright, I'll work Ryback", and I go up to Ryan, "hey man, clean slate"2014 November 26, CM Punk, “Episode 226: CM Punk” (1 hour 5 minutes 50 seconds from the start), in Art of Wrestling. From the entry acquiesce
Jacques Demers . . . is slated for a seat in the red chamber, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today.2009 August 27, “Former NHL coach Demers headed to Senate”, in The Star, Toronto, Canada, retrieved 20 Apr 2016. From the entry red chamber
Indian slate has a silvery-grey base with tonings of pink, burgundy and tan, and is also suitable for outdoor paving.2007, The Complete Aussie Backyard & Home Improvement Book, page 89. From the entry toning
All the gneiss roofing slates have vanished, to be replaced by pantiles painting patchworks of all possible orange hues.2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 103. From the entry pantile
This time José wanted him to join his slate for the elections to the local leadership of the metalworkers' union.2003, Peter Robb, A Death in Brazil, Bloomsbury, published 2005, page 97. From the entry hard word
A two-storey building, originally faced in flint with an attic under a slated roof with hiplet towards the street.2000, “Thetford”, in John Earl, Michael Sell, editors, The Theatres Trust Guide to British Theatres, 1750-1950: a Gazetteer, London: A & C…. From the entry hiplet
It was as if Linda's caress superceded all others in memory-wiping the slate clean of past experiences, charting a brand-new path.1998, Gail Link, Texan's Bride. From the entry memory-wipe
“Twelve pesticides commonly applied to citrus groves are slated for study in the project’s plots,” reports Tom S.1983 May 26, “Pesticide residue effects under study”, in The Californian, volume 25, number 16, Temecula, Calif., page A-11. From the entry pesticide

Meaning of slate

noun A piece of such stone, usually cut into a rectangular shape, used as a tile for flooring, roofing, etc.; (uncountable) such tiles collectively, or the material from which they are made.
noun A piece of other material used as a roofing tile.
noun A generally rectangular piece, originally of certain types of stone and now of other materials, often in a frame, used for writing on with a thin rod of the same or another stone (a slate pencil) or with chalk; a small chalkboard.

Full definition of slate

Questions about slate in a sentence

How do you use slate in a sentence?: Slate is used as a noun, adjective and verb. For example: “Put it on my slate—I’ll pay you next week.”
What is a short sentence with slate?: “The tractor plant is slated for the ax.”
What does slate mean?: Slate means a piece of such stone, usually cut into a rectangular shape, used as a tile for flooring, roofing, etc.; (uncountable) such tiles collectively, or the material from which they are made.

Adapted from Wiktionary: slate (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use slate in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/slate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.