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sliding

[slahy-ding]
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adjective
  1. rising or falling, increasing or decreasing, according to a standard or to a set of conditions.
  2. operated, adjusted, or moved by sliding: a sliding door.
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Origin of sliding

before 900; Middle English; Old English slīdende. See slide, -ing2
Related formsslid·ing·ly, adverbslid·ing·ness, nounun·slid·ing, adjective

slide

[slahyd]
verb (used without object), slid [slid] /slɪd/, slid or slid·den [slid-n] /ˈslɪd n/, slid·ing.
  1. to move along in continuous contact with a smooth or slippery surface: to slide down a snow-covered hill.
  2. to slip or skid.
  3. to glide or pass smoothly.
  4. to slip easily, quietly, or unobtrusively on or as if on a track, channel, or guide rail (usually followed by in, out, away, etc.).
  5. to pass or fall gradually into a specified state, character, practice, etc.
  6. to decline or decrease: Interest rates are beginning to slide.
  7. Baseball. (of a base runner) to cast oneself, usually feet first, forward along the ground in the direction of the base being approached, to present less of a target for a baseman attempting to make a tag.
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verb (used with object), slid [slid] /slɪd/, slid or slid·den [slid-n] /ˈslɪd n/, slid·ing.
  1. to cause to slide, slip, or coast, as over a surface or with a smooth, gliding motion.
  2. to hand, pass along, or slip (something) easily or quietly (usually followed by in, into, etc.): to slide a note into someone's hand.
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noun
  1. an act or instance of sliding.
  2. a smooth surface for sliding on, especially a type of chute in a playground.
  3. an object intended to slide.
  4. Geology.
    1. a landslide or the like.
    2. the mass of matter sliding down.
  5. a single transparency, object, or image for projection in a projector, as a lantern slide.
  6. Photography. a small positive color transparency mounted for projection on a screen or magnification through a viewer.
  7. a usually rectangular plate of glass on which objects are placed for microscopic examination.
  8. Furniture. a shelf sliding into the body of a piece when not in use.
  9. Music.
    1. an embellishment consisting of an upward or downward series of three or more tones, the last of which is the principal tone.
    2. a portamento.
    3. a U-shaped section of the tube of an instrument of the trumpet class, as the trombone, that can be pushed in or out to alter the length of the air column and change the pitch.
  10. a vehicle mounted on runners, for conveying loads, as of grain or wood, especially over a level surface.
  11. (of a machine or mechanism)
    1. a moving part working on a track, channel, or guide rails.
    2. the surface, track, channel, or guide rails on which the part moves.
  12. any of various chutes used in logging, mining, or materials handling.
  13. a flat or very low-heeled, backless shoe or slipper that can be slipped on and off the foot easily.
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Idioms
  1. let slide, to allow to deteriorate, pursue a natural course, etc., without intervention on one's part: to let things slide.
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Origin of slide

before 950; Middle English sliden (v.), Old English slīdan; cognate with Middle Low German slīden, Middle High German slīten; akin to sled
Related formsslid·a·ble, adjectiveslid·a·ble·ness, nounout·slide, verb (used with object), out·slid, out·slid or out·slid·den, out·slid·ing.

Synonyms

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1. slither. Slide, glide, slip suggest movement over a smooth surface. Slide suggests a movement of one surface over another in contact with it: to slide downhill. Glide suggests a continuous, smooth, easy, and (usually) noiseless motion: a skater gliding over the ice. To slip is to slide in a sudden or accidental way: to slip on the ice and fall.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

moveslithershoveveertumbledriftsagdropslumpdriveskateglideaccelerateslipfallflowshiftskidpropelstream

Examples from the Web for sliding

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • A soft, sliding hillock of sand lay directly in front of them.

  • Wally and Jack were sliding their chairs back from the table preparing to follow him.

    Good Indian

    B. M. Bower

  • I have been sliding off and clambering on ever since I bade goodbye to Havant.

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • White Fang, sliding by in quest of meat, stopped and began to eat the chips.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • Its nose was to the trail, and it trotted with a peculiar, sliding, effortless gait.

    White Fang

    Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for sliding

sliding

adjective
  1. rising or falling in accordance with given specificationsfees were charged as a sliding percentage of income
  2. regulated or moved by sliding
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slide

verb slides, sliding, slid (slɪd), slid or slidden (ˈslɪdən)
  1. to move or cause to move smoothly along a surface in continual contact with itdoors that slide open; children sliding on the ice
  2. (intr) to lose grip or balancehe slid on his back
  3. (intr; usually foll by into, out of, away from, etc) to pass or move gradually and unobtrusivelyshe slid into the room
  4. (intr usually foll by into) to go (into a specified condition) by degrees, unnoticeably, etche slid into loose living
  5. (foll by in, into, etc) to move (an object) unobtrusively or (of an object) to move in this wayhe slid the gun into his pocket
  6. (intr) music to execute a portamento
  7. let slide to allow to follow a natural course, esp one leading to deteriorationto let things slide
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noun
  1. the act or an instance of sliding
  2. a smooth surface, as of ice or mud, for sliding on
  3. a construction incorporating an inclined smooth slope for sliding down in playgrounds, etc
  4. rowing a sliding seat in a boat or its runners
  5. a thin glass plate on which specimens are mounted for microscopic study
  6. Also called: transparency a positive photograph on a transparent base, mounted in a cardboard or plastic frame or between glass plates, that can be viewed by means of a slide projector
  7. Also called: hair slide mainly British an ornamental clip to hold hair in placeUS and Canadian name: barrette
  8. machinery
    1. a sliding part or member
    2. the track, guide, or channel on or in which such a part slides
  9. music
    1. the sliding curved tube of a trombone that is moved in or out to allow the production of different harmonic series and a wider range of notes
    2. a portamento
  10. music
    1. a metal or glass tube placed over a finger held against the frets of a guitar to produce a portamento
    2. the style of guitar playing using a slideSee also bottleneck (def. 3)
  11. geology
    1. the rapid downward movement of a large mass of earth, rocks, etc, caused by erosion, faulting, etc
    2. the mass of material involved in this descentSee also landslide
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Derived Formsslidable, adjectiveslider, noun

Word Origin

Old English slīdan; related to slidor slippery, sliderian to slither, Middle High German slīten
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 sliding

slide

v.

Old English slidan (intransitive, past tense slad, past participle sliden) "to glide, slip, fall, fall down;" figuratively "fail, lapse morally, err; be transitory or unstable," from Proto-Germanic *slidan "to slip, slide" (cf. Old High German slito, German Schlitten "sleigh, sled"), from PIE root *sleidh- "to slide, slip" (cf. Lithuanian slystu "to glide, slide," Old Church Slavonic sledu "track," Greek olisthos "slipperiness," olisthanein "to slip," Middle Irish sloet "slide").

Meaning "slip, lose one's footing" is from early 13c. Transitive sense from 1530s. Phrase let (something) slide "let it take its own course" is in Chaucer (late 14c.). Sliding scale in reference to payments, etc., is from 1842.

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slide

n.

1560s, from slide (v.). As a smooth inclined surface down which something can be slid, from 1680s; the playground slide is from 1890. Meaning "collapse of a hillside, landslide" is from 1660s. As a working part of a musical instrument from 1800 (e.g. slide-trombone, 1891). Meaning "rapid downturn" is from 1884. Meaning "picture prepared for use with a projector" is from 1819 (in reference to magic lanterns). Baseball sense is from 1886. Slide-guitar is from 1968.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
sliding in Medicine

slide

(slīd)
n.
  1. A small glass plate for mounting specimens to be examined under a microscope.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
sliding in Science

slide

[slīd]
  1. A mass movement of earth, rocks, snow, or ice down a slope. Slides can be caused by an accumulation of new matter or of moisture in the overlying material, or by erosion within or below the material. They are often triggered by an earthquake or other disturbance such as an explosion.
  2. The mass of material resulting from such a process.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with sliding

slide

see let ride (slide); let slip (slide).

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.