slider

American  

[slahy-der] / ˈslaɪ dər /

noun

1. a person or thing that slides.

2. Baseball. a pitch similar to a curveball but one in which the ball rolls or slides, rather than spins, out of the pitcher’s hand and, like a curveball, drops and veers as it approaches home plate, sharply but with less of a curve.

   Johnson’s unhittable slider made him one of the best pitchers in the history of the game.

3. any of several freshwater turtles of the genus Chrysemys, of North America, having a smooth shell usually olive brown with various markings above and yellow below: some, especially C. scripta, are raised commercially and the young sold as pets, rarely surviving to adulthood.

4. a small burger on a bun.

   beef and lamb sliders.

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Etymology

Origin of slider

First recorded in 1520–30; 1930–35 slider for def. 2; slide + -er ¹

Example Sentences

With a fastball that averages 101.4 mph and a ferocious slider, Miller has been unhittable this season, putting up numbers that defy belief.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

George said he has focused on mixing up his pitches — fastball, curveball, slider, change-up.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Because it doesn’t spin like a slider, batters often read it as a fastball out of the pitcher’s hand—only for the ball to plummet into the dirt at the last possible moment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The Dodgers scrapped his slider, mixed in a sweeper, and told him his arm was so good that he should stop trying to make perfect pitches and just let fly.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

Observe how I treat him like he’s some kind of pathetic red-eared slider turtle.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith