noun
slough
sluhf
noun
1
The old skin shed by a snake, or dead tissue that separates from a wound.
"We found a snake's slough in the garden shed."
2
A swampy or marshy area, or a state of low emotional spirits.
"The trail crossed a muddy slough near the river."
verb
1
To shed or discard an old outer layer, or to get rid of something no longer needed.
"The company slowly sloughed off its outdated policies."
How to Use Slough
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishShed skin/dead tissue, the act of shedding something old, or a swampy patch of land.
Common mistake
Pronounced differently by sense — "sluff" for shedding skin, but "slow" or "sloo" for the marshy-land/town-name sense (as in Slough, England).
Common pairings
slough off
slough of despond
Word Forms
sloughed past tense, sloughs plural, sloughs plural, sloughs singular
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We found a snake's _____ in the garden shed.
Etymology
From Middle English "slogh," related to Germanic words for a sheath or shed skin.