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slide

(slīd)

v. slid (slĭd), slid·ing, slides

v.intr.

a. To move over a surface while maintaining smooth continuous contact.

b. To participate in a sport that involves such movement: sliding for a medal in luge.

c. To lose a secure footing or positioning; slip: slid on the ice and fell.

d. To pass smoothly and quietly; glide: slid past the door without anyone noticing.

e. Baseball To drop down from a running into a lying or diving position when approaching a base so as to avoid being tagged out.

2. To be ignored or not dealt with; drop: Let the matter slide.

a. To decrease: Prices slid in morning trading.

b. To become less favorable or less desirable: Economic conditions have begun to slide.

v.tr.

1. To cause to slide or slip: slid the glass down to the other end of the counter.

2. To place covertly or deftly: slid the stolen merchandise into his pocket.

1. A sliding movement or action.

a. A smooth, usually inclined surface or track for sliding: a water slide.

b. A playground apparatus for children to slide on, typically consisting of a smooth chute climbed onto by means of a ladder.

3. A part that operates by sliding, as the U-shaped section of tube on a trombone that is moved to change the pitch.

4. A period of decline or loss: "The semiconductor industry is heading for a cyclical slide" (New York Times).

a. An image on a transparent base for projection on a screen.

b. One of a series of images projected digitally as part of a presentation.

c. A small glass plate for mounting specimens to be examined under a microscope.

6. A fall of a mass of rock, earth, or snow down a slope; an avalanche or landslide.

7. A backless shoe with an open toe.

8. Music

a. A slight portamento used in violin playing, passing quickly from one note to another.

b. An ornamentation consisting of two grace notes approaching the main note.

c. A small metal or glass tube worn over a finger or held in the hand, used in playing bottleneck-style guitar.

d. The bottleneck style of guitar playing.

[Middle English sliden, from Old English slīdan.]

Synonyms: slide, slip¹, glide, coast, skid
These verbs mean to move smoothly and continuously, often over a slippery surface. Slide usually implies rapid easy movement without loss of contact with the surface: coal that slid down a chute to the cellar. Slip is most often applied to accidental sliding resulting in loss of balance or foothold: slipped on a patch of ice. Glide refers to smooth, free-flowing, seemingly effortless movement: "four snakes gliding up and down a hollow" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).
Coast applies especially to downward movement resulting from the effects of gravity or momentum: The driver let the truck coast down the incline. Skid implies an uncontrolled, often sideways sliding caused by a lack of traction: The bus skidded on wet pavement.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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