slippery slope

noun

: a course of action that seems to lead inevitably from one action or result to another with unintended consequences

Examples of slippery slope in a Sentence

His behavior will lead him down a slippery slope to ruin.

Recent Examples on the Web

The recent rash of CEOs Gone Wild is arguably even stupider than commonplace fraud, and a troubling sign that there continues to be a slippery slope of accountability for C-Suite leadership. —Ian Chaffee, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025

Fox News pundits such as Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity portrayed Let’s Move as a nanny-state plot to control the American diet, a slippery slope to the criminalization of french fries. —Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 1 Sep. 2025

Altering one’s art to appease critics is a dangerous and slippery slope. —Brande Victorian, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2025

Pellerin says navigating the slippery slope of social climbing onscreen was challenging as an actor as well. —William Earl, Variety, 22 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for slippery slope

• electroscope
• heliotrope
• kaleidoscope
• laryngoscope
• ophthalmoscope
• oscilloscope
• polariscope
• stereoscope
• antelope
• bronchoscope
• cantaloupe
• cystoscope