Slopes deprived of soft sheep (4)
I believe the answer is:
rams
'sheep' is the definition.
(I have seen 'Male sheep ' mean 'rams' so perhaps 'sheep' could also mean 'rams')
'slopes deprived of soft' is the wordplay.
'slopes' becomes 'ramps' (I've seen this before).
'deprived of' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'soft' becomes 'p' (musical abbreviation for 'piano').
'ramps' with 'p' removed is 'RAMS'.
(Other definitions for rams that I've seen before include "Hits; sheep" , "Batters like male sheep?" , "drives" , "Bangs into as car might" .)