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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

slide.

To (cause to) move in continuous contact with a surface.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈslaɪ̯d/[ˈslaɪ̯d]/ˈslɛɪd/Northumbria
  1. To (cause to) move in continuous contact with a surface.

    ergative
    He slid the boat across the grass.
    The safe slid slowly.
  2. To move on a low-friction surface.

    intransitive
    The car slid on the ice.
  3. To drop down and skid into a base.

    intransitive
    Jones slid into second.
  4. To lose one’s balance on a slippery surface.

    intransitive
    He slid while going around the corner.
  5. To pass or put imperceptibly; to slip.

    transitive
    to alter the meaning of a question by sliding in a word
    Schoolchildren sometimes slide each other notes during class.
  6. To subtly direct a facial expression at (someone).

    transitive
    He slid me a dirty look.
  7. To pass inadvertently.

    intransitive · obsolete
  8. To pass along smoothly or unobservedly; to move gently onward without friction or hindrance.

    intransitive
    A ship or boat slides through the water.
  9. To decrease in amount or value.

    intransitive
    The stock market slid yesterday after major stocks released weak quarterly results.
  10. To smoothly pass from one note to another by bending the pitch upwards or downwards.

  11. To ride down snowy hills upon a toboggan or similar object for recreation.

    regional
  12. To go; to move from one place or to another.

    intransitive · slang
  13. To kick so that the ball slides along the ground with little or no turning.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃sleydʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₃sléydʰeti Proto-Germanic *slīdaną Proto-West Germanic *slīdan Old English slīdan Middle English sliden English slide Inherited from Middle English sliden, from Old English slīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *slīdan, from Proto-Germanic *slīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃sléydʰeti, from *h₃sleydʰ- (“slippery”) + *-eti. Cognate with Old High German slītan (“to slide”) (whence German schlittern), Middle Low German slīden (“to slide”), Middle Dutch slīden (“to slide”) (whence Dutch slijderen, frequentative of now obsolete slijden), Vedic Sanskrit स्रेधति (srédhati, “to err, blunder”).

noun/ˈslaɪ̯d/[ˈslaɪ̯d]/ˈslɛɪd/Northumbria
  1. An item of play equipment that children can climb up and then slide down again.

    The long, red slide was great fun for the kids.
  2. A surface of ice, snow, butter, etc. on which someone can slide for amusement or as a practical joke.

  3. The falling of large amounts of rubble, earth and stones down the slope of a hill or mountain; avalanche.

    The slide closed the highway.
  4. An inclined plane on which heavy bodies slide by the force of gravity, especially one constructed on a mountainside for conveying logs by sliding them down.

  5. A mechanism, or portion of one, consisting of a part which slides on or against a guide.

    On many semiautomatic pistols, the barrel is beneath the slide.
  6. The act of sliding; smooth, even passage or progress.

    a slide on the ice
  7. A lever that can be moved in two directions.

  8. Synonym of slider (“movable part of a zip fastener that opens or closes the row of teeth”).

  9. A valve that works by sliding, such as in a trombone.

  10. A transparent plate bearing an image to be projected to a screen.

    Please hire a vendor to put these boxfuls of slides under a scanner and convert them all to digital images.
  11. A page of a computer presentation package such as PowerPoint.

    broadly
    I still need to prepare some slides for my presentation tomorrow.
  12. In full microscope slide: a flat, usually rectangular piece of glass or similar material on which a prepared sample may be viewed through a microscope.

  13. The act of dropping down and skidding into a base

  14. A hand-held device made of smooth, hard material, used in the practice of slide guitar.

  15. A lively dance from County Kerry, in 12/8 time.

    Irish · traditional
  16. A small dislocation in beds of rock along a line of fissure.

  17. A grace consisting of two or more small notes moving by conjoint degrees, and leading to a principal note either above or below.

  18. A sound which, by a gradual change in the position of the vocal organs, passes imperceptibly into another sound.

  19. A clasp or brooch for a belt, etc.

  20. Removable rank insignia worn on epaulettes of army uniform.

    Australia · informal
  21. A pocket in one's pants (trousers).

    with ten dollars in his slide
  22. A sandal that is backless and open-toed.

  23. A voluntary stutter used as a technique to control stuttering in one's speech.

  24. A promiscuous woman, slut.

    slang · vulgar
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃sleydʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *h₃sléydʰeti Proto-Germanic *slīdaną Proto-West Germanic *slīdan Old English slīdan Middle English sliden English slide Inherited from Middle English sliden, from Old English slīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *slīdan, from Proto-Germanic *slīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃sléydʰeti, from *h₃sleydʰ- (“slippery”) + *-eti. Cognate with Old High German slītan (“to slide”) (whence German schlittern), Middle Low German slīden (“to slide”), Middle Dutch slīden (“to slide”) (whence Dutch slijderen, frequentative of now obsolete slijden), Vedic Sanskrit स्रेधति (srédhati, “to err, blunder”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.