Definition

1. Noun:

   • A sloping channel or passage for things to slide down: A chute is a steep, inclined surface or tube designed to allow objects or people to descend quickly and smoothly, often using gravity.
   • A parachute: (Informal, short for "parachute") A device used to slow the descent of a person or object through the air.

2. Verb:

   • To descend or jump using a parachute: The act of jumping from an aircraft and descending safely to the ground with the aid of a parachute.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Sloping Channel):
  • The laundry chute sends clothes directly to the basement.
  • Workers loaded the packages onto the delivery chute.
• Noun (Parachute):
  • The skydiver checked his chute before the jump.
  • Supplies were dropped by chute to the remote village.
• Verb:
  • The soldiers will chute into the training zone at dawn.
  • During the emergency, they had to chute from the plane.

Advanced Usage

• "To shoot the chute": An idiom meaning to ride down a water slide or a similar steep, sliding attraction. It can also refer to the act of parachuting.
  • The kids love to shoot the chute at the water park.

Variants and Related Words

• Parachute (n/v): The full term for the device or action for which "chute" is a common abbreviation.
• Chutist (n): (Less common) A person who uses a parachute; a parachutist.

Synonyms

• Noun (Channel): Slide, ramp, incline, trough, flume.
• Noun (Parachute): 'Chute (informal), canopy, parasail.
• Verb: Parachute, jump, bail out.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Chute" as a verb is typically used on its own and does not commonly form phrasal verbs. The related full term "parachute" is used in phrases like "parachute in.")

Related Idioms

• "Everything but the kitchen sink": (While not directly containing "chute," this idiom is sometimes associated with the chaotic image of things coming down a chute.)
  • The report included everything but the kitchen sink.

Noun

1. sloping channel through which things can descend
2. rescue equipment consisting of a device that fills with air and retards your fall

Verb

1. jump from an airplane and descend with a parachute