slide
Americanverb (used without object)
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slides,
present (3rd person singular)
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slid,
past participle, past
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slidden,
past participle
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sliding
present participle
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to move along in continuous contact with a smooth or slippery surface.
to slide down a snow-covered hill.
- Synonyms:
- slither
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to slip or skid.
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to glide or pass smoothly.
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to slip easily, quietly, or unobtrusively on or as if on a track, channel, or guide rail (usually followed by in, out, away, etc.).
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to pass or fall gradually into a specified state, character, practice, etc.
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to decline or decrease.
Interest rates are beginning to slide.
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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.
verb (used with object)
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slides,
present (3rd person singular)
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slid,
past participle, past
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slidden,
past participle
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sliding
present participle
-
to cause to slide, slip, or coast, as over a surface or with a smooth, gliding motion.
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to hand, pass along, or slip (something) easily or quietly (usually followed by in, into, etc.).
to slide a note into someone's hand.
noun
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slides
plural
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an act or instance of sliding.
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a smooth surface for sliding on, especially a type of chute in a playground.
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an object intended to slide.
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Geology.
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a landslide or the like.
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the mass of matter sliding down.
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a single transparency, object, or image for projection in a projector, as a lantern slide.
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Photography. a small positive color transparency mounted for projection on a screen or magnification through a viewer.
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a usually rectangular plate of glass on which objects are placed for microscopic examination.
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Furniture. a shelf sliding into the body of a piece when not in use.
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Music.
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an embellishment consisting of an upward or downward series of three or more tones, the last of which is the principal tone.
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a portamento.
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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.
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a vehicle mounted on runners, for conveying loads, as of grain or wood, especially over a level surface.
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(of a machine or mechanism)
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a moving part working on a track, channel, or guide rails.
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the surface, track, channel, or guide rails on which the part moves.
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any of various chutes used in logging, mining, or materials handling.
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a flat or very low-heeled, backless shoe or slipper that can be slipped on and off the foot easily.
idioms
verb
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to move or cause to move smoothly along a surface in continual contact with it
doors that slide open
children sliding on the ice
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(intr) to lose grip or balance
he slid on his back
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(intr; usually foll by into, out of, away from, etc) to pass or move gradually and unobtrusively
she slid into the room
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to go (into a specified condition) by degrees, unnoticeably, etc
he slid into loose living
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to move (an object) unobtrusively or (of an object) to move in this way
he slid the gun into his pocket
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(intr) music to execute a portamento
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to allow to follow a natural course, esp one leading to deterioration
to let things slide
noun
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the act or an instance of sliding
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a smooth surface, as of ice or mud, for sliding on
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a construction incorporating an inclined smooth slope for sliding down in playgrounds, etc
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rowing a sliding seat in a boat or its runners
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a thin glass plate on which specimens are mounted for microscopic study
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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
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Also called: hair slide. US and Canadian name: barrette. an ornamental clip to hold hair in place
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machinery
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a sliding part or member
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the track, guide, or channel on or in which such a part slides
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music
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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
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a portamento
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music
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a metal or glass tube placed over a finger held against the frets of a guitar to produce a portamento
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the style of guitar playing using a slide See also bottleneck
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geology
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the rapid downward movement of a large mass of earth, rocks, etc, caused by erosion, faulting, etc
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the mass of material involved in this descent See also landslide
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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.
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The mass of material resulting from such a process.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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slidesimple
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slidessimple
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have slidperfect
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have sliddenperfect
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has slidperfect
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has sliddenperfect
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am slidingprogressive
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are slidingprogressive
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is slidingprogressive
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have been slidingperfect progressive
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has been slidingperfect progressive
Past
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slidsimple
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had slidperfect
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had sliddenperfect
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was slidingprogressive
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were slidingprogressive
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had been slidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of slide
First recorded before 950; Middle English sliden (verb), Old English slīdan; cognate with Middle Low German slīden, Middle High German slīten; akin to sled
Explanation
To slide is to move down or across something in a smooth way. If you’re into that kind of thing, head to a playground and go down a slide. Just don’t push any toddlers out of the way. You can slide your bed across your room so it's near the window, or slide on the kitchen floor in your socks. You can also slide down a slide, a play structure that's designed for climbing up and sliding down. Another kind of slide is the small rectangular piece of glass that scientists slide under a microscope to examine specimens, or the photography slide you slide into a projector for viewing.
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:
Netflix shares, which closed Thursday $76.01, are down 39% over the past 12 months, a slide that began with its $83-billion bid for Warner Bros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
The dollar index DXY is little changed, as oil futures CL.1 slide and gold futures GC00 trade around $4,392 an ounce.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
This is the part I cannot let slide.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Meanwhile Farage's personal popularity already seems to be slightly on the slide and before news of the investigation broke, I spoke to commentators about the party's prospects.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
He bet it had banisters to slide down, hidden closets, quiet nooks for reading.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
"The charge a droplet acquires as it slides depends heavily on the specific surface -- we measured differences of up to a factor of ten," explains Zhongyuan Ni, the study's first author.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
The Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar to serve as Donald Trump's presidential jet experienced a takeoff delay Wednesday as inspectors checked one of its inflatable slides used for emergency evacuations.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
It includes an architectural model and original blueprints of the Integratron, as well as nearly 630 photographs, negatives and slides, more than 250 audio recordings, 8-millimeter film footage, books, publications and other records and ephemera.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
When Zoe was six months into her first job, she used AI to help her write slides for a pitch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Seconds later, her head peeks between the curtains and the window slides open.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Nasdaq futures slid and Treasury yields rose to a spate of new multiyear highs as investors took positions ahead of crucial U.S. inflation prints Thursday and Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
As I slid my finger across the display, I could feel it, but it’s more subtle than Samsung’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Herring is blended into a gruel and slid “down the hatch” three times a day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Aerial pictures taken by AFP show concrete and other detritus have slid into the hole on the road side of the multi-million-dollar oceanfront property.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
I bit back a snort as I slid my backpack down the table, revealing a tissue-wrapped package.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Lovely, slidden pass by Tielemans, and a lovely, calm, delayed finish by Iheancho.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 6, 2021
Here are pieces of rails along which the wheels of locomotives have slidden; the granules have yielded and become plates; they exfoliate or come off in leaves.
From The Glaciers of the Alps Being a narrative of excursions and ascents, etc. by John Tyndall
He sat with bowed head, softly caressing the white jewelled hand which had slidden down from his shoulder.
From That Unfortunate Marriage, Vol. 2 by Frances Eleanor Trollope
Betty had been about to interpose, but at Aunt Priscilla's concession Doris had slidden down and taken Solomon in her arms, and rubbed her soft cheek against his head.
From A Little Girl in Old Boston by Amanda Minnie Douglas
But all the time that it is at work the table is being slidden backwards and forwards on the slides.
"It was a series of sliding doors moments that led us to each other and from something so tragic, came an enduring, special friendship."
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Small-capitalization stocks are back in the market’s spotlight after sliding below a key chart level, as investors watch for signs that rising global bond yields could put more pressure on equities.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026
Faraday Future’s shares peaked with excitement about its EV plans in 2021 and have been sliding since then.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
The yen has been sliding despite previous interventions and comments by Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama that Japan was ready to act, remarks aimed at deterring investors from betting on the currency sliding further.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
“Enjoy your recap,” he said over his shoulder as he left the room, the doors sliding shut behind him with an official-sounding metallic click.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
