slide

Etymology

From Middle English sliden, from Old English slīdan (“to slide”), from Proto-West Germanic *slīdan, from Proto-Germanic *slīdaną (“to slide, glide”), from Proto-Indo-European *sléydʰ-e-ti, from *sleydʰ- (“slippery”). 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”).

verb

1. (ergative) To (cause to) move in continuous contact with a surface.
   He slid the boat across the grass.
   The safe slid slowly.
   Snow slides down the side of a mountain.
2. (intransitive) To move on a low-friction surface.
   The car slid on the ice.
   They bathe in summer, and in winter slide. c. 1685, Edmund Waller, Of the Invasion and Defeat of the Turks
3. (intransitive, baseball) To drop down and skid into a base.
   Jones slid into second.
4. (intransitive) To lose one’s balance on a slippery surface.
   He slid while going around the corner.
5. (transitive) To pass or put imperceptibly; to slip.
   to alter the meaning of a question by sliding in a word
   Schoolchildren sometimes slide each other notes during class.
   Lachey and Olson have become rather chummy the last couple of years—they slide each other free tickets, they visit each other at practice sessions and games, their wives hang out—and, well, Olson has been filling Lachey’s head with a lot of baseball talk. 1992 October, Steve Buckley, “Boss Hog: Jim Lachey is the best offensive lineman in football playing on the best team in football”, in Sport, volume 83, number 10, →ISSN, page 64
6. (transitive) To subtly direct a facial expression at (someone).
   He slid me a dirty look.
7. (intransitive, obsolete) To pass inadvertently.
8. (intransitive) To pass along smoothly or unobservedly; to move gently onward without friction or hindrance.
   A ship or boat slides through the water.
   Ages shall slide away without perceiving. 1692, John Dryden, Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy
9. (intransitive, finance) To decrease in amount or value.
   The stock market slid yesterday after major stocks released weak quarterly results.
10. (music) To smoothly pass from one note to another by bending the pitch upwards or downwards.
11. (regional) To ride down snowy hills upon a toboggan or similar object for recreation.
    Tom and his mates discussed some plan for a few minutes and then Tom sang out: "Who'll go sliding? There's a big bob-sled in the barn and we fixed it up yesterday morning.[…]" 1913, Alice B. Emerson, Ruth Fielding at Snow Camp, Or, Lost in the Backwoods
    "They're awful mean not to have taken us slidin' with them," declared Sammy, sitting on the front step and making no effort to continue the work of snow man building. "I love to slide," repeated Dot, sadly. 1919, Grace Brooks Hill, The Corner House Girls Snowbound
12. (intransitive, slang) To go; to move from one place or to another.
    Gotta slide, this is my stop [on the train]. 1999, Paolo Hewitt, Heaven's Promise, page 12
    "Baby what are you doing why are you putting your clothes back on?" "Somebody robbd my nigga I gotta go!" I tell her. With a saddened face, she says, "What do you mean you gotta go, is he okay?" "I don't know I just know I gotta slide, he's pulling up out here any min." 2021, Virdez Evans, Actions with Consequences, iUniverse
13. (soccer) To kick so that the ball slides along the ground with little or no turning.
    England captain Harry Kane missed a great chance to give them the lead shortly after the break but it did not prove costly as Raheem Sterling crowned a smooth move involving Declan Rice, Jack Grealish and Mason Mount to slide home his 16th goal in his past 24 international appearance after 55 minutes. September 2 2021, Phil McNulty, “Hungary 0-4 England”, in BBC

noun

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 consisting of a part which slides on or against a guide.
6. The act of sliding; smooth, even passage or progress.
   a slide on the ice
   But for West Brom it was further evidence they are struggling to arrest a slide down the table where they are now three points above the relegation zone after their sixth loss in seven league matches. January 23, 2011, Alistair Magowan, “Blackburn 2 - 0 West Brom”, in BBC
7. A lever that can be moved in two directions.
8. A valve that works by sliding, such as in a trombone.
9. (photography) A transparent plate bearing an image to be projected to a screen.
10. (by extension, computing) A page of a computer presentation package such as PowerPoint.
    I still need to prepare some slides for my presentation tomorrow.
11. (sciences) A flat, usually rectangular piece of glass or similar material on which a prepared sample may be viewed through a microscope Generally referred to as a microscope slide.
12. (baseball) The act of dropping down and skidding into a base
13. (music, guitar) A hand-held device made of smooth, hard material, used in the practice of slide guitar.
14. (traditional Irish music and dance) A lively dance from County Kerry, in 12/8 time.
15. (geology) A small dislocation in beds of rock along a line of fissure.
16. (music) A grace consisting of two or more small notes moving by conjoint degrees, and leading to a principal note either above or below.
17. (phonetics) A sound which, by a gradual change in the position of the vocal organs, passes imperceptibly into another sound.
18. A clasp or brooch for a belt, etc.
19. A pocket in one's pants (trousers).
    with ten dollars in his slide
20. (footwear) A shoe that is backless and open-toed.
21. (speech therapy) A voluntary stutter used as a technique to control stuttering in one's speech.
22. (vulgar slang) A promiscuous woman, slut.