slide (sl d)v. slid (sl d), slid·ing, slides v.intr.1. To move over a surface while maintaining smooth continuous contact. 2. To coast on a slippery surface, such as ice or snow. 3. To pass smoothly and quietly; glide: slid past the door without anyone noticing. 4. To go unattended or unacted upon: Let the matter slide. 5. To lose a secure footing or positioning; shift out of place; slip: slid on the ice and fell. 6. a. To move downward: Prices began to slide. b. To return to a less favorable or less worthy condition. 7. Baseball To drop down and skid into a base to avoid being put out. v.tr.1. To cause to slide or slip: slid the glass down to the other end of the counter. 2. To place covertly or deftly: slid the stolen merchandise into his pocket. n.1. A sliding movement or action. 2. A smooth surface or track for sliding, usually inclined: a water slide. 3. A playground apparatus for children to slide on, typically consisting of a smooth chute mounted by means of a ladder. 4. A part that operates by sliding, as the U-shaped section of tube on a trombone that is moved to change the pitch. 5. An image on a transparent base for projection on a screen. 6. A small glass plate for mounting specimens to be examined under a microscope. 7. A fall of a mass of rock, earth, or snow down a slope; an avalanche or landslide. 8. Music a. A slight portamento used in violin playing, passing quickly from one note to another. b. An ornamentation consisting of two grace notes approaching the main note. c. A small metal or glass tube worn over a finger or held in the hand, used in playing bottleneck-style guitar. d. The bottleneck style of guitar playing.
[Middle English sliden, from Old English sl dan.] Synonyms: slide, slip1, glide, coast, skid, slither These verbs mean to move smoothly and continuously over or as if over a slippery surface. Slide usually implies rapid easy movement without loss of contact with the surface: coal that slid down a chute to the cellar. Slip is most often applied to accidental sliding resulting in loss of balance or foothold: slipped on a patch of ice. Glide refers to smooth, free-flowing, seemingly effortless movement: "four snakes gliding up and down a hollow" (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Coast applies especially to downward movement resulting from the effects of gravity or momentum: The driver let the truck coast down the incline. Skid implies an uncontrolled, often sideways sliding caused by a lack of traction: The bus skidded on wet pavement. Slither can mean to slip and slide, as on an uneven surface, often with friction and noise: "The detached crystals slithered down the rock face" (H.G. Wells). The word can also suggest the sinuous gliding motion of a reptile: An iguana slithered across the path. |