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.

Nearby words

Origin of glide

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

SYNONYMS FOR glide

1. flow. See slide.

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ANTONYMS FOR glide

1. stick.

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

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
I could stand it no longer, but gliding underneath the tent I hid my face in my hands and wept aloud.
The Survivors of the Chancellor|Jules Verne
She seemed dimly to see Kari Svehaugen gliding about and taking care of things in the home and out in the cow house.
Lisbeth Longfrock|Hans Aanrud
It was entrancing thus to be gliding noiselessly over a perfectly calm sea, with so many attendant elements of beauty.
Under the Southern Cross|Maturin M. Ballou
And at once gliding into the bushes, he disappeared, without taking further leave of the persons who had given him his life.
Stronghand|Gustave Aimard
She got a feeling of direction, turned the suit a little more and started it gliding forward.
Legacy|James H Schmitz

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.

glide

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

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

noun

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Origin of glide

Examples from the Web for gliding

gliding

noun

glide

verb

noun

Word Origin for glide

glide