slice
Americannoun
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slices
plural
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a thin, flat piece cut from something.
a slice of bread.
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a part, portion, or share.
a slice of land.
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any of various implements with a thin, broad blade or part, as for turning food in a frying pan, serving fish at the table, or taking up printing ink; spatula.
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Sports.
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the path described by a ball, as in baseball or golf, that curves in a direction corresponding to the side from which it was struck.
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a ball describing such a path.
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Tennis. a stroke executed by hitting down on the ball with an underhand motion and thus creating backspin.
verb (used with object)
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slices,
present (3rd person singular)
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sliced,
past participle, past
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slicing
present participle
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to cut into slices; divide into parts.
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to cut through or cleave with or as if with a knife.
The ship sliced the sea.
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to cut off or remove as a slice or slices (sometimes followed by off, away, from, etc.).
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to remove by means of a slice, slice bar, or similar implement.
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Sports. to hit (a ball) so as to result in a slice.
verb (used without object)
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slices,
present (3rd person singular)
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sliced,
past participle, past
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slicing
present participle
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to slice something.
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to admit of being sliced.
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Sports.
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(of a player) to slice the ball.
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(of a ball) to describe a slice in flight.
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noun
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a thin flat piece cut from something having bulk
a slice of pork
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a share or portion
a slice of the company's revenue
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any of various utensils having a broad flat blade and resembling a spatula
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the flight of a ball that travels obliquely because it has been struck off centre
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the action of hitting such a shot
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the shot so hit
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verb
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to divide or cut (something) into parts or slices
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to cut in a clean and effortless manner
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to move or go (through something) like a knife
the ship sliced through the water
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to cut or be cut (from) a larger piece
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(tr) to remove by use of a slicing implement
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to hit (a ball) with a slice
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(tr) rowing to put the blade of the oar into (the water) slantwise
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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slicernoun
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presliceverb (used with object)
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sliceableadjective
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unslicedadjective
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slicinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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slicesimple
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slicessimple
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have slicedperfect
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has slicedperfect
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am slicingprogressive
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are slicingprogressive
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is slicingprogressive
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have been slicingperfect progressive
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has been slicingperfect progressive
Past
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slicedsimple
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had slicedperfect
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was slicingprogressive
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were slicingprogressive
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had been slicingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slice
1300–50; (noun) Middle English s ( c ) lice < Old French esclice, noun derivative of esclicer to split up < Frankish *slitjan, akin to Old English slītan, Old Norse slīta, Dutch slījten ( see slit); (v.) late Middle English sklicen < Old French esclicer
Explanation
A slice is a narrow piece or portion of something (particularly food), like a slice of bread or a slice of pizza. You can order a slice of cake or pie at your favorite bakery, or fry potatoes after cutting them into thin slices. Slice can also be used figuratively: "His brothers each own a slice of the business." The expression "slice of life" usually describes a realistic version of life that's depicted in a book, movie, or play. And in golfing, a slice is a stroke that makes the ball curve sharply to one side.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The tariffs cover a slice of imports from Canada that include plywood, liquor, and hockey gear.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Asian people, including many Chinese, make up the largest slice — roughly 59% — of the city’s population of 54,000, according to the latest census.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Even before this year’s run-up, interest on the debt was consuming a bigger slice of the federal budget.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Roll it out cinnamon-roll style, spread with cream cheese, Parmesan, herbs and hot giardiniera, then coil, slice and nestle the spirals together in a buttered skillet.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Papá finishes eating his slice of baklava before he says, “I think you are mistaken, Reina. But your baklava is as wonderful as always.”
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
At the Unitree booth, a robot made a sandwich with two slices of bread and a single piece of lettuce, pinching the leaf to assemble it.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
To make the protein pop, Conagra designed a custom marinade and added grill marks to the chicken breast slices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
He once ordered three 4x4 burgers from In-N-Out, which is four beef patties and four slices of cheese.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
I melted the butter and miso together until fragrant and faintly nutty, then brushed it over sourdough and baked the slices until deeply golden.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
There were Mama and Daddy, me, Lulu the cat, and Rufus, each sitting in our own tree, eating slices of apple pie.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
To test this, Chai sliced worms lengthwise and fused each one with part of a different worm.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
In a large sauté pan, heat three tablespoons of olive oil and stir in three large garlic cloves, thinly sliced.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
“Her hands kept very busy. They sliced the air and made karate chops to mark off boundaries.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
And in place of the sliced Swiss cheese he used to use, there’s a more labor-intensive Mornay sauce thick with Gruyère and premium dairy from California’s Straus Family Creamery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Tears sliced through the filth on Yakov’s cheeks.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
The slicing and dicing of available tables can mean there are only so many seats at the most sought-after establishments, begetting a sense of scarcity at the highest levels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Poster boy Duncan Scott started the rush, defending his 200m individual medley gold from Birmingham four years ago by slicing a chunk off his own Games record.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
In the classroom, trainees crowded around instructor Luo Duocheng as he demonstrated slicing a slab of beef, marinating it, and skewering the meat to form identical kebabs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Kagan insists that the Fourth Amendment cannot be defeated by slicing invasions of privacy into pieces small enough to appear constitutionally insignificant.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
Her mother was busily slicing pickled radishes to serve with the rice and soup.
From "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
