glide

[glahyd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glide 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.

Origin of glide

before 900; Middle English gliden (v.), Old English glīdan; cognate with German gleiten

Related formsglid·ing·ly, adverbun·glid·ing, adjective

Synonyms for glide

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glide ON THESAURUS.COM

1. flow. See slide.

Antonyms for glide

1. stick.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gliding

fly, sail, slither, flit, float, drift, spiral, waft, slide, skate, skim, descend, slip, skip, soar, shoot, decline, run, stream, wing

Examples from the Web for gliding

Contemporary Examples of gliding

The game consists of flooding the bathroom with water, hiking up your skirt, and then gliding over the stream.
‘Nymphomaniac,’ Lars von Trier’s Icy Orgy of Sex and Self-Loathing, Bows At Sundance
Marlow Stern
January 23, 2014
But Tom Boswell makes it all look easy, gliding between the seasons with appreciation and acerbic wit.
The Best Columns of the Year
John Avlon
December 31, 2013
The world economy is gliding past crises and the markets have got their mojo back.
Political Tensions Takes Center Stage at World Economic Forum
Daniel Gross
January 27, 2013
Contestants in the Miss India pageant are gliding across a stage in Mumbai, eyes shining.
Models vs. Militants: Nisha Pahuja’s Film Shows Two Worlds of Indian Women
Abigail Pesta
May 5, 2012
He was gliding into rallies like a rock star as thousands of people waited in freezing weather to see him.
Mitt’s Nightmare Scenario in New Hampshire
Lois Romano
January 9, 2012

Historical Examples of gliding

The line extends from the drum to the flying or gliding machine.
Flying Machines
W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
In her sleep she had seen it gliding among the pale heather-blossoms on her curtains.
The Dream
Emile Zola
As in a dream I heard her cry of recognition, and knew that she was gliding toward me.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
Lucy Ann could almost hear the gliding of his rhythmic feet.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
But when I came to cross the road no crouching or gliding would do.
The Cavalier
George Washington Cable

British Dictionary definitions for gliding

gliding

noun

the sport of flying in a glider

glide

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 Formsglidingly, 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

Word Origin and History for gliding

glide

Old English glidan "move along smoothly and easily, glide, slip, slide" (class I strong verb, past tense glad, past participle gliden), from West Germanic *glidan "to glide" (cf. Old Saxon glidan, Old Frisian glida, German gleiten). Related: Glided; gliding. Strong past tense form glid persisted into 20c. The noun is attested 1580s, from the verb.