lickety-split

[ lik-i-tee-split ]

/ ˈlɪk ɪ tiˈsplɪt /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR lickety-split ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb Informal.

at great speed; rapidly: to travel lickety-split.

QUIZZES

"EVERYDAY" VS. "EVERY DAY" QUIZ: IS IT ONE WORD OR TWO?

An everyday activity is one you do every day. (Thanks, English.) Practice using "everyday," one word, and "every day," two words, in this fun quiz with … everyday example sentences!

Question 1 of 16

“Everyday" is an adjective that describes things that happen habitually or items that are normal items or events.

True

False

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of lickety-split

1835–45, Americanism; perhaps dial. licket rag (for wiping in haste, with one lick) + -y¹ + split, as in split second

Words nearby lickety-split

lick someone's boots, lick the stuffing out of, lick-alike, licker-in, lickerish, lickety-split, licking, licking river, lickspittle, licorice, licorice stick

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for lickety-split

They must have seed the carriage drivin' away, and thought for sure it had the gal in it, and they was after it, lickety-split.
The Stories of the Three Burglars|Frank Richard Stockton
A man was coming down from the north, lickety-split on a roan with a rangy stride.
Curly|Roger Pocock
She thought her last-day was come, with the fences streaking past her lickety-split.
Across the Fruited Plain|Florence Crannell Means
On he fled, across the crisp fields, leaped the fence and struck the road, lickety-split!
Christmas Eve on Lonesome and Other Stories|John Fox, Jr.

And Beagle heard a noise he thought was a fox barking and he started for the tamarack swamp, lickety-split.
Nan Sherwood at Pine Camp|Annie Roe Carr

British Dictionary definitions for lickety-split

lickety-split

/ (ˈlɪkɪtɪˈsplɪt) /

adverb

US and Canadian informal very quickly; speedily

Word Origin for lickety-split

C19: from lick + split

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

lickety-split

adverb Informal.

QUIZZES

"EVERYDAY" VS. "EVERY DAY" QUIZ: IS IT ONE WORD OR TWO?

Origin of lickety-split

Words nearby lickety-split

Words related to lickety-split

Example sentences from the Web for lickety-split

British Dictionary definitions for lickety-split

adverb

Word Origin for lickety-split