lid

American  

[lid] / lɪd /

noun

lids plural

1. a removable or hinged cover for closing the opening, usually at the top, of a pot, jar, trunk, etc.; a movable cover.

2. an eyelid.

3. a restraint, ceiling, or curb, as on prices or news.

4. Slang. a hat, cap, or other head covering.

5. (in mosses)

   1. the cover of the capsule; operculum.

   2. the upper section of a pyxidium.

6. Slang. one ounce of marijuana.

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verb (used with object)

lidded, lidding

1. to supply or cover with a lid.

idioms

1. blow / flip one's lid, to lose control, especially to rage hysterically: Also flip one's wig.

   He nearly flipped his lid over the way they damaged his car.

2. blow the lid off, to expose to public view, especially to reveal something scandalous, illegal, etc.

lid British  

/ lɪd /

noun

1. a cover, usually removable or hinged, for a receptacle

   a saucepan lid

   a desk lid

2. short for eyelid

3. botany another name for operculum

4. slang short for skidlid

5. old-fashioned a quantity of marijuana, usually an ounce

6. informal to raise one's hat as a greeting, etc

7. slang to become crazy or angry

8. informal

   1. to be the final blow to

   2. to curb, prevent, or discourage

9. informal to make startling or spectacular revelations about

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lid More Idioms  

1. see blow the lid off; flip one's lid; put the lid on.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sublid
  noun
• underlid
  noun
• lidded
  adjective
• unlidded
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lids
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lid

before 1000; Middle English; Old English hlid; cognate with Dutch, German lid, Old Norse hlith gate, gateway

Explanation

A lid is a top, or a cap — some kind of removable or hinged cover for a container. If you forget to put the lid on your tin of cat food, you may discover that your cat and dog have eaten it all by the end of the day. The lid on your trash can keeps raccoons out of it, and the lid on your travel mug keeps your tea hot for hours. Another lid is your eyelid, the skin that moves over your eyeball like a lid: "Her heavy lids told me she didn't sleep at all." A lid is also slang for a hat or a helmet, and if someone says, "Put a lid on it," they're telling you (somewhat rudely) to quiet down.

Example Sentences

You have to believe in what is under the lid, behind the frost, wrapped in parchment, waiting to become itself again.

From Salon • Jul. 11, 2026

June was particularly brutal for Europe as a "heat dome" -- a high-pressure system acting like a lid on a boiling pot -- led to all-time and monthly temperature records in several countries.

From Barron's • Jul. 9, 2026

There are also opposing forces that may keep a lid on things.

From BBC • Jul. 8, 2026

Western governments are watching to see if Sharaa’s Islamist-led government can keep a lid on potential extremists in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026

When he lifted the lid, he expected to find a half-decent, unpopular design that had been marked seventy-five percent off.

From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

• cap
• roof