chute1

[shoot] /ʃut/
noun
1.
an inclined channel, as a trough, tube, or shaft, for conveying water, grain, coal, etc., to a lower level.
2.
a waterfall or steep descent, as in a river.
3.
a water slide, as at an amusement park.
4.
a steep slope, as for tobogganing.
verb (used with object), chuted, chuting.
5.
to move or deposit, by or as if by means of a chute:
The dock had facilities for chuting grain directly into the hold of a vessel.
verb (used without object), chuted, chuting.
6.
to descend by or as if by means of a chute.
Idioms
7.
out of the chute, at the start; at the very beginning:
The new business made mistakes right out of the chute and failed within a year.
Origin
1715-25; < French, Middle French, representing Old French cheoite a fall, nominalized feminine past participle of cheoir to fall (< Vulgar Latin *cadēre, for Latin cadere; cf. cadence, case1), with vowel of Middle French chue, Old French cheue, a variant past participle; some senses influenced by shoot

chute2

[shoot] /ʃut/
noun
1.
a parachute.
verb (used without object), chuted, chuting.
2.
to descend from the air by or as if by a parachute.
verb (used with object), chuted, chuting.
3.
to drop from an aircraft by means of a parachute:
Supplies were chuted to the snowbound mountain climbers.
Origin
1915-20, Americanism; by shortening
Examples from the web for chute
  • Chili heaved and snorted and tried to maneuver his body in the tight-fitted, gated steel chute.
  • Animals in a chute that are packed tightly cannot be expected to turn around and exit, period.
  • But a few pilots and designers have been exploring ways to set down on solid ground without the aid of a chute.
  • The chute was deployed but catching about as much air as a garbage bag with the open end tied shut.
  • The gate of the chute tremors with noise as the bull restlessly wrenches left and right.
  • Of course, he wasn't the one who noticed the garbage chute.
  • Before you remember half your agenda, you are firmly ushered on your way, down the exit chute to start the process all over again.
  • Miller's chute caught on the temporary canopy that juts out on all sides of the ring.
  • Although the capsule entered the atmosphere on time, its drogue chute failed to open.
  • Development of nano technology is an off-chute of investigations in sub-atomic particles.
British Dictionary definitions for chute

chute1

/ʃuːt/
noun
1.
an inclined channel or vertical passage down which water, parcels, coal, etc, may be dropped
2.
a steep slope, used as a slide as for toboggans
3.
a slide into a swimming pool
4.
a narrow passageway through which animals file for branding, spraying, etc
5.
a rapid or waterfall
Word Origin
C19: from Old French cheoite, feminine past participle of cheoir to fall, from Latin cadere; in some senses, a variant spelling of shoot

chute2

/ʃuːt/
noun, verb
1.
(informal) short for parachute
Derived Forms
chutist, noun
Word Origin and History for chute
n.

1725, American English, "fall of water" (earlier shoot, 1610s), from French chute "fall," from Old French cheoite "a fall," fem. past participle of cheoir "to fall," from Latin cadere (see case (n.1)). Meaning "inclined tube, trough" is from 1804; that of "narrow passage for cattle, etc." first recorded 1881. In North America, absorbing some senses of similar-sounding shoot (n.1).

short for parachute (n.), attested from 1920.

Slang definitions & phrases for chute

chute

noun

A parachute (1920+)

Related Terms

poop chute