slice
Americannoun
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slices
plural
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a thin, flat piece cut from something.
a slice of bread.
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a part, portion, or share.
a slice of land.
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any of various implements with a thin, broad blade or part, as for turning food in a frying pan, serving fish at the table, or taking up printing ink; spatula.
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Sports.
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the path described by a ball, as in baseball or golf, that curves in a direction corresponding to the side from which it was struck.
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a ball describing such a path.
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Tennis. a stroke executed by hitting down on the ball with an underhand motion and thus creating backspin.
verb (used with object)
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slices,
present (3rd person singular)
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sliced,
past participle, past
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slicing
present participle
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to cut into slices; divide into parts.
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to cut through or cleave with or as if with a knife.
The ship sliced the sea.
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to cut off or remove as a slice or slices (sometimes followed by off, away, from, etc.).
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to remove by means of a slice, slice bar, or similar implement.
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Sports. to hit (a ball) so as to result in a slice.
verb (used without object)
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slices,
present (3rd person singular)
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sliced,
past participle, past
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slicing
present participle
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to slice something.
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to admit of being sliced.
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Sports.
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(of a player) to slice the ball.
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(of a ball) to describe a slice in flight.
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noun
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a thin flat piece cut from something having bulk
a slice of pork
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a share or portion
a slice of the company's revenue
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any of various utensils having a broad flat blade and resembling a spatula
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the flight of a ball that travels obliquely because it has been struck off centre
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the action of hitting such a shot
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the shot so hit
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verb
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to divide or cut (something) into parts or slices
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to cut in a clean and effortless manner
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to move or go (through something) like a knife
the ship sliced through the water
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to cut or be cut (from) a larger piece
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(tr) to remove by use of a slicing implement
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to hit (a ball) with a slice
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(tr) rowing to put the blade of the oar into (the water) slantwise
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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slicernoun
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presliceverb (used with object)
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sliceableadjective
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unslicedadjective
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slicinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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slicesimple
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slicessimple
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have slicedperfect
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has slicedperfect
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am slicingprogressive
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are slicingprogressive
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is slicingprogressive
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have been slicingperfect progressive
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has been slicingperfect progressive
Past
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slicedsimple
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had slicedperfect
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was slicingprogressive
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were slicingprogressive
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had been slicingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slice
1300–50; (noun) Middle English s ( c ) lice < Old French esclice, noun derivative of esclicer to split up < Frankish *slitjan, akin to Old English slītan, Old Norse slīta, Dutch slījten ( see slit); (v.) late Middle English sklicen < Old French esclicer
Explanation
A slice is a narrow piece or portion of something (particularly food), like a slice of bread or a slice of pizza. You can order a slice of cake or pie at your favorite bakery, or fry potatoes after cutting them into thin slices. Slice can also be used figuratively: "His brothers each own a slice of the business." The expression "slice of life" usually describes a realistic version of life that's depicted in a book, movie, or play. And in golfing, a slice is a stroke that makes the ball curve sharply to one side.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
To begin, we are in some mountainous slice of small-town Pacific Northwest, where the Canadian tax breaks call American producers across the 49th parallel and the landscape presses in from all sides.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
A small number of corporate giants now control a massive slice of the industry—exemplified by Paramount Skydance’s recent acquisition of Warner Bros.
From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026
Whatever form it takes, banks believe the chancellor now has much more of an appetite to take a larger slice of their pie.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
“One Man” is a gorgeous slice of baroque pop, with acoustic guitar and a string quartet, and on the swooning ballad “Where Is Gone?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
When Too Bad’s mother came home, she gave us each a big slice of cake.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Paramount’s deal showed the markets can still absorb historically large slices of debt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
For chicken soup, I roast thighs on a bed of onion, garlic, carrot and celery with big lemon slices, garlic powder, onion powder and plenty of black pepper.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Thousands of individual image slices were recorded and combined by computer into a three dimensional reconstruction.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
The hope is to be serving the community piping hot slices of pepperoni pizza by spring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Galileo, too, pondered infinity and these infinitely small slices of area.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
The Lakers went to sleep in the second quarter and started to get cooked by the Warriors, watching their big lead get sliced to 53-53 at the half.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
Then the components are sliced up with hydraulic shears and other equipment and loaded onto heavy-duty trucks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026
A library of radically changed visages, sliced and sculpted to fit the funhouse-mirror beauty standards set by a handful of influential men.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
Carter's company has more than 1,250 acres of apple orchards in Washington, and the fruit is grown for sliced apple portions – often sold to hotels and schools, for example.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
He sliced the boat through the dark-green water, maneuvering into a quiet canal on the East Side.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
There’s no slicing and dicing without a sufficiently sharp edge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
The company is even investigating lasers and ultrasound as potentially speedier methods of slicing pizzas than a traditional knife blade.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
The slicing and dicing of available tables can mean there are only so many seats at the most sought-after establishments, begetting a sense of scarcity at the highest levels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
In the classroom, trainees crowded around instructor Luo Duocheng as he demonstrated slicing a slab of beef, marinating it, and skewering the meat to form identical kebabs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Experimenting, he ran the blade along the tree, and sure enough, the barest cut separated the wood like it was slicing bread.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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