Slide

Pronunciation

• IPA: /slaɪd/
• Rhymes: -aɪd

Origin

From Middle English sliden, from Old English slīdan ("to slide"), from Proto-Germanic *slīdaną ("to slide, glide"), from Proto-Indo-European *sleidh- ("to slip"). Cognate with Old High German slītan ("to slide") (German schlittern), Middle Low German slīden ("to slide"), Middle Dutch slīden ("to slide") (Dutch sledderen).

Full definition of slide

Verb

1. (ergative) To (cause to) move in continuous contact with a surfaceHe slid the boat across the grass.The safe slid slowly.Snow slides down the side of a mountain.
2. (intransitive) To move on a low-friction surface.The car slid on the ice.
• unknown date, Waller:They bathe in summer, and in winter slide.
3. (intransitive, baseball) To drop down and skid into a base.Jones slid into second.
4. (intransitive) To lose one’s balance on a slippery surface.He slid while going around the corner.
5. (transitive) To pass or put imperceptibly; to slip.to slide in a word to vary the sense of a question
6. (intransitive, obsolete) To pass inadvertently.
• Bible, Eccles. xxviii. 26Beware thou slide not by it.
7. (intransitive) To pass along smoothly or unobservedly; to move gently onward without friction or hindrance.A ship or boat slides through the water.
• unknown date, Dryden:Ages shall slide away without perceiving.
• unknown date, Alexander Pope:Parts answering parts shall slide into a whole.
8. (music) To pass from one note to another with no perceptible cessation of sound.
9. To pass out of one's thought as not being of any consequence.
• unknown date, Chaucer:With good hope let he sorrow slide.
• unknown date, Philip Sidney:With a calm carelessness letting everything slide.

Derived terms

• let slide

Noun

1. An item of play equipment that children can climb up and then slide down again.The long, red slide was great fun for the kids.
2. A surface of ice, snow, butter, etc. on which someone can slide for amusement or as a practical joke.
3. The falling of large amounts of rubble, earth and stones down the slope of a hill or mountain; avalanche.The slide closed the highway.
4. An inclined plane on which heavy bodies slide by the force of gravity, especially one constructed on a mountainside for conveying logs by sliding them down.
5. A mechanism consisting of a part which slides on or against a guide.
6. The act of sliding; smooth, even passage or progress.a slide on the ice
• Francis BaconA better slide into their business.
• 2011 , January 23 , Alistair Magowan , Blackburn 2 - 0 West Brom , But for West Brom it was further evidence they are struggling to arrest a slide down the table where they are now three points above the relegation zone after their sixth loss in seven league matches.
7. A lever that can be moved in two directions.
8. A valve that works by sliding, such as in a trombone.
9. A transparent plate bearing an image to be projected to a screen.
10. (baseball) The act of dropping down and skidding into a base
11. (sciences) A flat, rectangular piece of glass on which a prepared sample may be viewed through a microscope.
12. (music, guitar) A hand-held device made of smooth, hard material, used in the practice of slide guitar.
13. (traditional Irish music and dance) A lively dance from County Kerry, in 12/8 time.
14. (geology) A small dislocation in beds of rock along a line of fissure.
15. (music) A grace consisting of two or more small notes moving by conjoint degrees, and leading to a principal note either above or below.
16. (phonetics) A sound which, by a gradual change in the position of the vocal organs, passes imperceptibly into another sound.
17. A clasp or brooch for a belt, etc.

Synonyms

• (item of play equipment) slippery dip
• (inclined plane on which heavy bodies slide by the force of gravity) chute
• (mechanism of a part which slides on or against a guide) runner

Derived terms

• landslide
• mudslide
• water slide
• hairslide

Anagrams

• delis, idles, sidle