slip
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to move, flow, pass, or go smoothly or easily; glide; slide.
Water slips off a smooth surface.
- Synonyms:
- slither
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to slide suddenly or involuntarily; to lose one's foothold, as on a smooth surface.
She slipped on the icy ground.
- Synonyms:
- slither
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to move, slide, or start gradually from a place or position.
His hat had slipped over his eyes.
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to slide out of or become disengaged from a fastening, the grasp, etc..
The soap slipped from my hand.
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to pass without having been acted upon or used; be lost; get away.
to let an opportunity slip.
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to pass from the mind, memory, or consciousness.
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to elapse or pass quickly or imperceptibly (often followed by away orby ).
The years slipped by.
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to become involved or absorbed easily.
to slip into a new way of life.
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to move or go quietly, cautiously, or unobtrusively.
to slip out of a room.
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to put on or take off a garment easily or quickly: He slipped off his shoes.
She slipped on the new sweater.
He slipped off his shoes.
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to make a mistake or error.
As far as I know, you haven't slipped once.
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to fall below a standard or accustomed level, or to decrease in quantity or quality; decline; deteriorate.
His work slipped last year.
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to be said or revealed inadvertently (usually followed byout ).
The words just slipped out.
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to read, study, consider, etc., without attention.
He slipped over the most important part.
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Aeronautics. (of an aircraft when excessively banked) to slide sideways, toward the center of the curve described in turning.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to move, pass, go, etc., with a smooth, easy, or sliding motion.
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to put, place, pass, insert, or withdraw quickly or stealthily.
to slip a letter into a person's hand.
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to put on or take off (a garment) easily or quickly.
He slipped the shirt over his head.
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to let or make (something) slide out of a fastening, the hold, etc..
I slipped the lock, and the door creaked open.
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to release from a leash, harness, etc., as a hound or a hawk.
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to get away or free oneself from; escape (a pursuer, restraint, leash, etc.).
The cow slipped its halter.
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to untie or undo (a knot).
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Nautical. to let go entirely, as an anchor cable or an anchor.
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to pass from or escape (one's memory, attention, knowledge, etc.).
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to dislocate; put out of joint or position.
I slipped a disk in my back.
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to shed or cast.
The rattlesnake slipped its skin.
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to ignore, pass over, or omit, as in speaking or writing.
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to let pass unheeded; neglect or miss.
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Boxing. to evade or avoid (a blow) by moving or turning the body quickly.
He slipped a right and countered with a hard left.
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(of animals) to bring forth (offspring) prematurely.
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British. to detach (a railway car) from a moving train as it passes through a station.
noun
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an act or instance of slipping.
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a sudden losing of one's foothold, as on slippery ground.
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a mistake in judgment; blunder.
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a mistake or oversight, as in speaking or writing, especially a small one due to carelessness.
a minor slip in addition; a slip of the tongue; a slip of the pen.
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an error in conduct; indiscretion.
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something easily slipped on or off.
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a decline or fall in quantity, quality, extent, etc., or from a standard or accustomed level.
a slip in prices.
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Clothing.
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a woman's undergarment, sleeveless and usually having shoulder straps, extending from above the bust down to the hemline of the outer dress.
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an underskirt, as a half-slip or petticoat.
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a pillowcase.
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an inclined plane, sloping to the water, on which vessels are built or repaired.
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Nautical. the difference between the speed at which a screw propeller or paddle wheel would move if it were working against a solid and the actual speed at which it advances through the water.
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a space between two wharves or in a dock for vessels to lie in.
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Electricity. the difference between the synchronous and the operating speeds of a motor.
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Machinery.
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the difference between output speed and input or theoretical speed in certain fluid or electromagnetic devices, as couplings or motors.
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(in pumps) the difference between the actual volume of water or other liquid delivered by a pump during one complete stroke and the theoretical volume as determined by calculation of the displacement.
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unintended movement or play between mechanical parts or the like.
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Cricket.
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the position of a fielder who stands behind and to the offside of the wicketkeeper.
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the fielder playing this position.
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Geology.
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the relative displacement of formerly adjacent points on opposite sides of a fault, measured along the fault plane.
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a small fault.
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Also called glide. Metallurgy. plastic deformation of one part of a metallic crystal relative to the other part due to shearing action.
verb phrase
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slip away
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to depart quietly or unobtrusively; steal off.
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to recede; slowly vanish.
All those facts I had memorized just slipped away.
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slip up to make an error; fail.
I slipped up and put the letter in the wrong envelope.
idioms
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slip a cog. cog.
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let slip, to reveal unintentionally.
to let slip the truth.
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give someone the slip, to elude a pursuer; escape.
The murderer gave the police the slip.
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slip something over on, to deceive; defraud; trick. Also slip one over on.
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slip someone's mind, to be forgotten.
I was supposed to phone, but it slipped my mind.
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slip between the cracks. crack.
noun
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a small paper form on which information is noted.
a withdrawal slip.
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a piece suitable for propagation cut from a plant; scion or cutting.
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any long, narrow piece or strip, as of wood, paper, or land.
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a young person, especially one of slender form.
a mere slip of a girl.
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a long seat or narrow pew in a church.
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Bookbinding. one of the ends of a band, extending at the sides of a book after sewing.
verb (used with object)
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to take slips or cuttings from (a plant).
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to take (a part), as a slip from a plant.
noun
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Ceramics. a clay solution of creamy consistency for coating or decorating biscuit.
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a glass-bearing liquid fired onto steel as a cladding, as in making enamelware.
noun
verb
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to move or cause to move smoothly and easily
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(tr) to place, insert, or convey quickly or stealthily
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(tr) to put on or take off easily or quickly
to slip on a sweater
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(intr) to lose balance and slide unexpectedly
he slipped on the ice
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to let loose or be let loose
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to be released from (something); escape
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(tr) to let go (mooring or anchor lines) over the side
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to pass out of (the mind or memory)
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(tr) to overlook, neglect, or miss
to slip an opportunity
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(intr) to move or pass swiftly or unperceived
to slip quietly out of the room
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to make a mistake
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Also: sideslip. to cause (an aircraft) to slide sideways or (of an aircraft) to slide sideways
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(intr) to decline in health, mental ability, etc
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(intr) (of an intervertebral disc) to become displaced from the normal position
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(tr) to dislocate (a bone)
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(of animals) to give birth to (offspring) prematurely
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(tr) to pass (a stitch) from one needle to another without knitting it
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(tr) to operate (the clutch of a motor vehicle) so that it partially disengages
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(intr) (of the clutch of a motor vehicle) to fail to engage, esp as a result of wear
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to allow to escape
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to say unintentionally
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slang to hoodwink or trick
noun
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the act or an instance of slipping
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a mistake or oversight
a slip of the pen
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a moral lapse or failing
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a woman's sleeveless undergarment, worn as a lining for and to give support to a dress
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a narrow space between two piers in which vessels may dock
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See slipway
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a kind of dog lead that allows for the quick release of the dog
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a small block of hard steel of known thickness used for measurement, usually forming one of a set
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the ratio between output speed and input speed of a transmission device when subtracted from unity, esp of a drive belt or clutch that is not transmitting full power
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cricket
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the position of the fielder who stands a little way behind and to the offside of the wicketkeeper
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the fielder himself
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the relative movement of rocks along a fault plane
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a landslide, esp one blocking a road or railway line
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metallurgy crystallog the deformation of a metallic crystal caused when one part glides over another part along a plane
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the deviation of a propeller from its helical path through a fluid, expressed as the difference between its actual forward motion and its theoretical forward motion in one revolution
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another name for sideslip
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to elude or escape from someone
noun
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a narrow piece; strip
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a small piece of paper
a receipt slip
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a part of a plant that, when detached from the parent, will grow into a new plant; cutting; scion
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a young slender person
a slip of a child
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dialect a young pig
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printing
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a long galley
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a less common name for a galley proof
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a pew or similar long narrow seat
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a small piece of abrasive material of tapering section used in honing
verb
noun
Related Words
Other Word Forms
- slipless adjective
- slippingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of slip1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English verb slippen, from Middle Dutch slippen; cognate with Old High German slipfen; late Middle English noun slippe, derivative of or akin to the verb; compare Old High German slipf “a sliding, slipping, error”; akin to slipper 2
Origin of slip2
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English slip(pe) “edge of a garment,” from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German slippe “flap (of a piece of clothing)”
Origin of slip3
First recorded before 1000; Middle English slyppe, Old English slype “semiliquid mass”; slop 1, cowslip, oxlip
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.
