glide

[ glahyd ]

/ glaɪd /

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See synonyms for: glide / gliding on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), glid·ed, glid·ing.

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

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

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

Aeronautics.

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.
to fly in a glider.

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

verb (used with object), glid·ed, glid·ing.

to cause to glide.

noun

a gliding movement, as in dancing.

a dance marked by such movements.

Music. slur (def. 10a).

Phonetics.

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.
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.

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

an act or instance of gliding.

Metallurgy. slip¹ (def. 49).

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.

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

OTHER WORDS FOR glide

1 flow.

See synonyms for glide on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR glide

1 stick.

See antonyms for glide on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of glide

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

synonym study for glide

1. See slide.

OTHER WORDS FROM glide

glid·ing·ly, adverbun·glid·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use glide in a sentence

The chants grew louder before reaching an eardrum-piercing crescendo when the 2013 Arab Idol glided on stage.
Gaza to Jersey: A Star is Born|Maysoon Zayid|November 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The glamorous couple had been photographed countless times as they glided through the glittering world of British high society.
Dead Heiress Eva Rausing and Husband Hans Kristian Battled Addiction|Mike Giglio|July 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The way Fred and Adele Astaire glided and strode on stage must have reminded one of the joys of being alive.
This Week’s Hot Reads: March 23, 2012|Jimmy So|March 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
She glided over the tile floor like a gazelle and had a face that Amedeo Modigliani would have died for.
They Were Perfect Together|Lawrence Schiller|November 22, 2010|DAILY BEAST

She glided like a queen into the Whitney Gala on Monday night and watched as hot young things preened and posed in her gowns.
Inside Donatella's World|Rebecca Dana|October 20, 2009|DAILY BEAST
A long stretch of smooth ice followed, over which he glided with ever-increasing speed.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Having such resources in her own highly-cultivated mind, even the hours of imprisonment glided rapidly and happily along.
Madame Roland, Makers of History|John S. C. Abbott
Creeping down softly she opened the door of the room behind the library, and glided in.
Elster's Folly|Mrs. Henry Wood
The glittering steel glided through the groove, and the head of Madame Roland was severed from her body.
Madame Roland, Makers of History|John S. C. Abbott
One carried his books before him just as if they had been a tray, while he glided noiselessly to his place.
Friend Mac Donald|Max O'Rell

British Dictionary definitions for glide

glide

/ (ɡlaɪd) /

verb

to move or cause to move easily without jerks or hesitationsto glide in a boat down the river

(intr) to pass slowly or without perceptible changeto glide into sleep

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

(intr) to fly a glider

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

(intr) phonetics to produce a glide

noun

a smooth easy movement

any of various dances featuring gliding steps
a step in such a dance

a manoeuvre in which an aircraft makes a gentle descent without engine powerSee also glide path

the act or process of gliding

music

a long portion of tubing slipped in and out of a trombone to increase its length for the production of lower harmonic seriesSee also valve (def. 5)
a portamento or slur

phonetics

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
another word for semivowel

crystallog another name for slip 1 (def. 33)

cricket another word for glance 1 (def. 11)

Derived forms of glide

glidingly, adverb

Word Origin for glide

Old English glīdan; related to Old High German glītan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

glide

OTHER WORDS FOR glide

OPPOSITES FOR glide

Origin of glide

synonym study for glide

OTHER WORDS FROM glide

Words related to glide

How to use glide in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for glide

Derived forms of glide

Word Origin for glide