Library · Crypto, word by word · DeFi
What does slippage mean?
Slippage is the difference between the price you were quoted for a trade and the price you actually get, caused by the market moving while your transaction waits to be confirmed. On a DEX you set a slippage tolerance: the most you will accept.
What it means for you
If the price moves past your tolerance, the swap fails, and on many chains you still pay the network fee. A high tolerance lets the swap go through at a much worse price, and bots can exploit a loose setting. Check the minimum amount you will receive before you confirm.
How it works
Your swap waits until a block includes it, and transactions are ordered partly by the fee they pay, so other trades can execute first and move the pool's price. To limit this, the swap carries a floor: in an exact-input swap, a minimum output below which the transaction reverts, worked out from your slippage tolerance. A 1% tolerance means the trade executes only if the final price stays within 1% of the quote. A deadline timestamp also cancels the swap if it is included too late.
An example
Say you swap expecting to receive 1,000 of a token with a 1% tolerance, so the minimum is 990. If other trades land first and your swap would now return 985, it reverts and you lose only the network fee. With a 5% tolerance, it would go through and pay you 985.
Source: Uniswap docs: Swaps · checked 4 October 2026
Often confused with
Related words
Educational content, not financial advice. Written by hand and checked against the source named above. Something wrong? Tell us and we reply within two business days.