SL
Abbreviation with 9 meanings
| Stands for | Saline lock |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 9 |
| Categories | Medical, Business & Finance, Writing & Everyday, Transportation & Travel, Arts & Entertainment, Geography & Places |
| Also written | s.l., sl. |
SL has nine meanings. The most common are Saline lock (nursing) and Sublingual (medication route); it can also stand for Sociedad limitada (limited company), Stop-loss, Slang, Sleeper class and Stage left, plus 2 more listed below.
Meanings of SL at a glance
| # | SL stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saline lock | Medical › Nursing |
| 2 | Sublingual | Medical › Medication Route |
| 3 | Sociedad limitada (limited company) | Business & Finance › Company Type |
| 4 | Stop-loss | Business & Finance › Stock Market & Investing |
| 5 | Slang | Writing & Everyday › Grammar and Dictionary |
| 6 | Sleeper class | Transportation & Travel › Rail and Transit |
| 7 | Stage left | Arts & Entertainment › Film, Television and Theater |
| 8 | Sierra Leone | Geography & Places › Country Code |
| 9 | Sine loco (without place) | Writing & Everyday › Latin |
1. Saline lock
Medical · Nursing Abbreviations
Peripheral IV catheter capped and flushed with saline instead of being attached to running fluids, kept ready for intermittent medications or emergencies. Nurses flush it every shift and before and after each medication.
Example: IV converted to SL; flushed with 10 mL NS, no resistance or pain.
Also called INT or, historically, a "hep lock". Saline replaced heparin for flushing most peripheral IVs because it works as well and avoids heparin risks. In medication orders SL means sublingual (under the tongue), so prescriptions should spell out "sublingual" to avoid confusion.
2. Sublingual
Medical · Medication Route Abbreviations
Route in which a tablet, film or spray is placed under the tongue to dissolve and be absorbed through the oral mucosa directly into the bloodstream. It works within minutes and bypasses first-pass liver metabolism; nitroglycerin and buprenorphine are classic SL drugs.
Example: Nitroglycerin 0.4 mg SL q5min x 3 PRN chest pain; call 911 if no relief.
Pronounced as the letters "S-L". ISMP warns that "SC" (subcutaneous) has been misread as SL. Patients should not swallow or chew SL tablets and should avoid drinking until they dissolve. Related but distinct is the buccal route, where the product sits between the cheek and gum. In nursing, SL also means saline lock.
3. Sociedad limitada (limited company)
Business & Finance · Company Type Abbreviations
Spanish private limited company, the most common legal form for businesses in Spain, also called sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (SRL). Partners' liability is limited to their contributions.
Example: The Madrid startup incorporated as an SL with three founding partners.
Spain's 2022 "Crea y Crece" law reduced the minimum capital from €3,000 to €1, with reserve rules applying until capital reaches €3,000. A single-member company adds "Unipersonal," written SLU. Written SL or S.L. after the name.
4. Stop-loss
Business & Finance · Stock Market & Investing Abbreviations
Order or price level set to close a position automatically if the price moves against the trader to a specified point, limiting the loss. Traders in forex, futures, stocks and crypto often write "SL" alongside entry and target prices.
Example: Long at 1.0850, SL at 1.0790, target 1.0980.
A standard stop order becomes a market order when triggered, so in a fast market or price gap it can fill well beyond the stop level; a stop-limit order avoids this but may not fill at all. Trailing stops move the stop level as the price moves favorably. SL is usually paired with TP (take profit) in trade setups.
5. Slang (sl.)
Writing & Everyday · Grammar and Dictionary Abbreviations
Labels words or senses that are very informal, often new, group-specific or short-lived, such as "dude" or "bail" meaning to leave. Dictionaries mark slang so readers avoid it in formal contexts.
Example: bail (v.) sl. to leave suddenly or abandon a plan: "He bailed on the party."
Lexicographers treat slang as more informal than colloquial language and often tied to a subculture, generation or region. Some slang becomes standard over time, as "mob" did in the 18th century despite Jonathan Swift's objections. Specialist works such as Green's Dictionary of Slang document this vocabulary historically.
6. Sleeper class
Transportation & Travel · Rail and Transit Abbreviations
Non-air-conditioned reserved sleeper class on Indian Railways, with three-tier berths and open windows, the most common way to travel long distances cheaply. Bedding is not provided.
Example: We traveled SL from Varanasi to Kolkata, with the windows open and chai sellers coming through all night.
Sleeper coaches are the backbone of long-distance rail travel for millions of Indians. They have the largest number of berths in a typical train. In summer, many passengers upgrade to air-conditioned classes to escape the heat.
7. Stage left
Arts & Entertainment · Film, Television and Theater Abbreviations
Left side of the stage from the actor's point of view facing the audience, which is the audience's right. The audience-side equivalent is house left or camera left in film.
Example: She exits SL as the lights fade.
Using the performer's perspective avoids confusion during rehearsals. British theaters sometimes use "prompt side" and "opposite prompt" instead. Getting stage left and right backwards is a classic beginner's mistake.
8. Sierra Leone
Geography & Places · Country Code Abbreviations
West African country whose capital, Freetown, was founded in 1792 as a settlement for formerly enslaved people. SLE is the alpha-3 code, and diamonds have long dominated its exports.
Example: Mining licenses in SL are published on a public online portal.
Sierra Leone's civil war (1991 to 2002) was partly financed by so-called blood diamonds. The language code sl is Slovenian.
9. Sine loco (without place) (s.l.)
Writing & Everyday · Latin Abbreviations
Replaces the place of publication in a bibliographic description when a book or document names none. Library catalogers and rare-book specialists use it in formal descriptions of early or unusual printed material.
Example: Pamphlet, s.l., 1792, 16 pages, no printer named, possibly issued by a Paris political club.
Older catalog records bracket it together with s.n. (no publisher), as in [S.l. : s.n.]. English-language citation styles use n.p. instead. Current cataloging rules (RDA) replaced these Latin forms with English phrases such as "[Place of publication not identified]." In biology the same letters abbreviate sensu lato, "in the broad sense."
Related abbreviations
More nursing abbreviations
- QSEN – Quality and Safety Education for Nurses
- ROC – Resumption of care
- s/p – Status post
- SCDs – Sequential compression devices
- SN – Skilled nursing
- SOC – Start of care
- SSE – Soapsuds enema
- T&P – Turn and position
See all 90 nursing abbreviations →
More medication route abbreviations
- PO – Per os (by mouth, orally)
- PR – Per rectum (rectally)
- PV – Per vaginam (vaginally)
- SC – Subcutaneous
- SQ – Subcutaneous
- subcut – Subcutaneous
- SubQ – Subcutaneous
- TD – Transdermal
See all 41 medication route abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.