1. something cast off: something discarded or shed
2. zoology dead outer covering: the dead outer skin shed by a reptile or an amphibian
3. medicine dead tissue layer: a layer of dead skin that separates from healthy skin after an infection or inflammation
4. card games discarded card: in card games, a card that has been discarded
verb (past and past participlesloughed, present participleslough·ing, 3rd person present singularsloughs)(past and past participlesluffed, present participlesluff·ing, 3rd person present singularsluffs)
Definition:
1. transitive and intransitive verb cast something off: to shed something, or be shed Snakes slough off their dead skins.
2. transitive verb discard something or somebody: to get rid of somebody or something that is no longer wanted or needed She sloughs off friends when she no longer has a use for them.
3. transitive verb ignore something: to pay no attention to something
4. transitive verb regional skip something unwanted: to skip something unwanted, especially school
5. intransitive verb medicine separate from healed tissue: to separate from surrounding healthy skin
(
refers to dead skin
)
6. transitive and intransitive verb card games discard card: to get rid of an unwanted card
[14th century. Origin ?]
Regional History
The use of slough to mean "skip something unwanted," as in sloughing school, is a Nevada usage.
