glide

American  

[glahyd] / glaɪd /

verb (used without object)

• glides,
  present (3rd person singular)
• glided,
  past participle,  past
• gliding
  present participle

1. to move smoothly and continuously along, as if without effort or resistance, as a flying bird, a boat, or a skater.

   Synonyms:

   flow

   Antonyms:

   stick

2. to pass by gradual or unobservable change (often followed by along, away, by, etc.).

3. to move quietly or stealthily or without being noticed (usually followed by in, out, along, etc.).

4. Aeronautics.

   1. to move in the air, especially at an easy angle downward, with less engine power than for level flight, solely by the action of air currents and gravity, or by momentum already acquired.

   2. to fly in a glider.

5. Music. to pass from one note to another without a break.

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verb (used with object)

• glides,
  present (3rd person singular)
• glided,
  past participle,  past
• gliding
  present participle

1. to cause to glide.

noun

• glides
  plural

1. a gliding movement, as in dancing.

2. a dance marked by such movements.

3. Music. slur.

4. Phonetics.

   1. a speech sound having the characteristics of both a consonant and a vowel, especially w in wore and y in your, and, in some analyses, r in road and l in load; semivowel.

   2. a transitional sound heard during the articulation linking two phonemically contiguous sounds, as the y- sound often heard between the i and e of quiet.

5. a calm stretch of shallow, smoothly flowing water, as in a river.

6. an act or instance of gliding.

7. Metallurgy. slip.

8. a smooth metal plate, as on the bottom of the feet of a chair or table, to facilitate moving and to prevent scarring of floor surfaces.

9. a metal track in which a drawer, shelf, etc., moves in or out.

glide British  

/ ɡlaɪd /

verb

1. to move or cause to move easily without jerks or hesitations

   to glide in a boat down the river

2. (intr) to pass slowly or without perceptible change

   to glide into sleep

3. to cause (an aircraft) to come into land without engine power, or (of an aircraft) to land in this way

4. (intr) to fly a glider

5. (intr) music to execute a portamento from one note to another

6. (intr) phonetics to produce a glide

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noun

1. a smooth easy movement

2. 1. any of various dances featuring gliding steps

   2. a step in such a dance

3. a manoeuvre in which an aircraft makes a gentle descent without engine power See also glide path

4. the act or process of gliding

5. music

   1. a long portion of tubing slipped in and out of a trombone to increase its length for the production of lower harmonic series See also valve

   2. a portamento or slur

6. phonetics

   1. a transitional sound as the speech organs pass from the articulatory position of one speech sound to that of the next, as the ( w ) sound in some pronunciations of the word doing

   2. another word for semivowel

7. crystallog another name for slip 1

8. cricket another word for glance 1

Usage

What does glide mean? To glide is to move smoothly along without effort, as in Ana loved the feeling of just gliding along the ice in her new ice skates. Glide means to move along water or air with little to no effort, as a boat might do in the water. Glide can be used figuratively to mean to proceed through life with little care or effort. People who glide through situations appear to have done nothing to get through, although they may have done something unseen or someone may have done something for them. To glide also means to move quietly or without being noticed, as in Carlos tried to glide by the teacher on duty, but they saw him and told him to go back to class. As a noun, glide refers to a gliding movement, as in dancing. Example: Once you reach the top of the hill, you can just glide all the way down.

Synonym Usage

See slide.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ungliding
  adjective
• glidingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• glides
  plural

Participles

• gliding
  present
• glided
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• glide
  simple
• glides
  simple
• have glided
  perfect
• has glided
  perfect
• am gliding
  progressive
• are gliding
  progressive
• is gliding
  progressive
• have been gliding
  perfect progressive
• has been gliding
  perfect progressive

Past

• glided
  simple
• had glided
  perfect
• was gliding
  progressive
• were gliding
  progressive
• had been gliding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will glide
  simple
• will have glided
  perfect
• will be gliding
  progressive
• will have been gliding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of glide

First recorded before 900; Middle English gliden (verb), Old English glīdan; cognate with German gleiten

Explanation

To glide is to sail or skate with ease across a surface. Your favorite thing about winter might be watching the skaters in the park glide silently on the ice-covered lake. A sled glides down a snowy hill, and a kayak glides across a silvery pond. Another way to glide is to soar in the air: your paper airplane, if you make it the right way, will glide all the way across the room, and a hawk can glide through the sky without seeming to move its wings. A different kind of glide is linguistic, a sound that's pronounced like a vowel but functions as a consonant.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

glide glides glided gliding

Sinner, meanwhile, will glide back slowly to Cincy, taking time off following an impressive victory at Wimbledon.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Tech scion David Ellison for months projected confidence that his blockbuster Hollywood merger was on a glide path to completion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Every year, tens of thousands of birds glide over the rusting remains of one of the Mediterranean's largest saltworks, to rest in the rare paradise it left behind.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

After reentering the atmosphere, it would glide on wings before being captured in mid air by a large subsonic aircraft.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

What bad things had he inherited along with the eyes and the dimples and the ability to glide through seventh-grade math?

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

It glides by smoothly, and Ms. Mann’s lilting, melancholy songs are hypnotically lovely, but the characters’ anguish and psychological distress are only faintly sketched in.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

Nothing seems to ruffle his fur as this political veteran glides from crisis to crisis with feline calm, and the lick of a paw.

From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026

One whispers, “I don’t think we can cut it, though,” once she glides out of the room.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2026

The Australian attack was too often too wide and England's number four tucked into cuts, deft glides and cover drives.

From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026

He glides through his turns as if he were ice-skating.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

“You are all set to go,” a U.S. military officer radioed as the ship glided through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and swung around the peninsula at the northern end of Oman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

Their analysis of fossil jaws suggests giant octopuses glided through the oceans equipped with the ability to chew on the hard shells and skeletons of large fish and marine reptiles.

From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026

Kudos to Styles who managed to mostly keep his composure as Hernández glided around him.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026

Sony animated film "GOAT," produced by NBA superstar Stephen Curry, glided into the number one spot at the North American box office, taking in $17 million, industry estimates showed Sunday.

From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026

High against the blue, three winged shapes wheeled and glided.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

Some guys become interested after seeing videos of NFL players gliding on reformers during the off-season.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Heng and reaching the banks of the Xiang River, the city’s “vast rice fields extend into lotus ponds with fish gliding in and out of the huge fanlike lotus leaves,” she adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Rather than flying like modern birds, these dinosaurs were probably adapted for gliding.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026

Criss was electric in “Something’s Coming” from “West Side Story,” gliding across the stage as though in a full-scale production.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

The Susan Constant turns, sailors rush to pull on lines, and we are on our way, gliding in to shore.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

Related Words

• descend
• drift
• flit
• float
• fly
• sail
• skate
• skim
• skip
• slide
• slip
• slither
• soar
• spiral
• waft