Word.ws English Dictionary

licked into shape

licked into shape is the simple past and past participle of lick into shape.

Meaning of lick into shape

Verb

lick into shape (third-person singular simple present licks into shape, present participle licking into shape, simple past and past participle licked into shape)

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To exert considerable effort to change (someone or something) into a desired state.
    • […] Men did not knovv hovv to mould and frame it [the doctrine of transubstantiation]; but at laſt it vvas licked into ſhape; the vvhole Philoſophy being caſt into ſuch a Mould as agreed vvith it.1699, Gilbert, Bishop of Sarum [i.e., Gilbert Burnet], “Article XXVIII. Of the Lord’s Supper.”, in An Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England. […], London: […] R[obert]...

Questions about licked into shape

What is licked into shape the simple past and past participle of?
Licked into shape is the simple past and past participle of lick into shape.

Words near licked into shape in the dictionary

  1. lickably
  2. lickdish
  3. lickdishes
  4. licked
  5. licked clean
  6. licked into shape
  7. licked one's chops
  8. licked one's lips
  9. licked one's wounds
  10. licked out
  11. licked someone's ass

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: licked into shape (page history and authors); lick into shape (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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