let slip
Idioms-
Also, ; let slide . Miss an opportunity; waste time. For example, We forgot to buy a ticket and let our big chance slip by , or He let the whole day slide by . The first term dates from the mid-1500s, the variant from the late 1500s.
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Also, let slip out . Reveal something, usually inadvertently, as in He let it slip out that he had applied for the vacant position . [Mid-1800s]
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let slip through one's fingers . Fail to seize an opportunity, as in We could have won the trophy but we let it slip through our fingers . [First half of 1600s]
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.
When one Artemis II crew member let slip in a press conference that he was bringing an iPhone to get mesmerizing photos of Earth, he caught himself.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
All the while, SpaceX apparently let slip its obligations to NASA’s moon effort.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026
She did let slip the relationship when she shouted "stop, Mum!" while the group was frantically paddling a canoe in the first mission - but no-one picked up on it.
From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026
Knowing that handing off the mantle to any of these soft-bellied siblings meant dooming his life’s work, Roy let slip one of the most devastating parental assessments ever captured on television.
From Salon • Dec. 9, 2025
To hold on tight to the Emma that I almost let slip away before.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
