sloughs

The skin shed by a snake or other reptile.

“That is the slough of a rattler; we must be careful.”

Dead skin on a sore or ulcer.

“This is the slough that came off of his skin after the burn.”

To shed (skin).

“Snakes slough their skin periodically.”

To slide off (like a layer of skin).

“A week after he was burned, a layer of skin on his arm sloughed off.”

To discard.

“East sloughed a heart.”

(Western US) To commit truancy, be absent from school without permission. (compare ditch)

“"Dude, Kaydn and Jarom are totally sloughing today!"”

A muddy or marshy area.

(Eastern United States) A type of swamp or shallow lake system, typically formed as or by the backwater of a larger waterway, similar to a bayou with trees.

“We paddled under a canopy of trees through the slough.”

(Western United States) A secondary channel of a river delta, usually flushed by the tide.

A state of depression.

“John is in a slough.”

A small pond, often alkaline, many but not all formed by glacial potholes.

“Potholes or sloughs formed by a glacier’s retreat from the central plains of North America, are now known to be some of the world’s most productive ecosystems.”