Word.ws English Dictionary

slip

/ˈslɪp/

slip verb: to lose one’s traction on a slippery surface; to slide due to a lack of friction. Also the clipping of sideslip.

slip: to lose one’s traction on a slippery surface; to slide due to a lack of friction
Image: Tranquil Garden, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

slip (third-person singular simple present slips, present participle slipping, simple past and past participle slipped or (obsolete) slipt)

  1. (intransitive) To lose one’s traction on a slippery surface; to slide due to a lack of friction.
    • [...] but in the damp conditions prevailing the driver sensibly was unwilling to attempt the climb up through Combe Down tunnel without help, for fear of slipping to a standstill in the unventilated bore, […]1960 March, “Motive Power Miscellany: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 184
    • Fernando Amorebieta seemed to have checked him, but a stepover created a fraction of room that became significant as the defender slipped, giving Falcao just enough space to curl a superb finish into the top corner.2012 May 9, Jonathan Wilson, “Europa League: Radamel Falcao’s Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao”, in the Guardian
  2. (intransitive) To err.
    • There is one that slippeth in his speach, but not from his heart, and who is he that hath not offended with his tongue?1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ecclesiasticus 19:16
  3. (intransitive) To accidentally reveal a secret or otherwise say something unintentionally.
    • She kept engaging with the caller, though, hoping he would slip and reveal her daughter’s location.2026 July 29, Nicholas Muhoro, “Amy Billig Vanished While Hitchhiking Through Coconut Grove. Then the Calls Began”, in Skip Boring, archived from the original on 31 Jul 2026
  4. (intransitive) To move or fly (out of place); to shoot; often with out, off, etc.
    • A bone may slip out of place.
  5. (transitive) To elude or evade by smooth movement.
    • I caught the thief, but he slipped my grasp and ran away.
  6. (transitive) To pass (a note, money, etc.), often covertly.
    • She thanked the porter and slipped a ten-dollar bill into his hand.
  7. (transitive) To cause to move smoothly and quickly; to slide; to convey gently or secretly.
    • Tvvo other VVitneſſes gave the follovving Evidence; That in his officious Attendance upon his Miſtreſs, he had try'd to ſlip a Povvder into her Drink, and that he vvas once catch'd endeavouring to ſtifle her vvith a Pillovv as ſhe vvas aſleep; […]1733, Humphry Polesworth [pseudonym; John Arbuthnot], Alexander Pope, compiler, “Law is a Bottomless Pit. Or, The History of John Bull. […]. The Second Part. Chapter XI. The Apprehending...
    • “This is a very urgent message for the countess’ ears alone,” replied Rokoff. “Tell her that she must arise and slip something about her and come to the telephone. I shall call up again in five minutes.”1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 43
  8. (intransitive) To move quickly and often secretively; to depart, withdraw, enter, appear, intrude, or escape as if by sliding.
    • Some errors slipped into the appendix.
    • Thrice the flitting shadow slipped away.1697, Virgil, “Aeneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
    Synonyms:
    slink
  9. (figuratively, intransitive) To move down; to slide.
    • Profits have slipped over the past six months.
    • The Cottagers had previously gone eight games without a win and had slipped into the relegation zone over Christmas, with boss Hughes criticised by fans after their 3-1 home defeat by fellow basement battlers West Ham on Boxing Day.2010 December 28, Marc Vesty, “Stoke 0 – 2 Fulham”, in BBC Sport
  10. (transitive) To release (a dog, a bird of prey, etc.) to go after a quarry.
    • Lucento slipped me like his greyhound.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • 'Well, it was one morning early in the spring,' said Lars, 'that I started for Linderudsœter, where I slipped Rap, and he was soon in full cry and made the hillside ring.'1881, P. Chr. Asbjörnsen [i.e., Peter Christen Asbjørnsen], translated by H. L. Brækstad, Round the Yule Log. Norwegian Folk and Fairy Tales, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, →OCLC...
  11. (transitive) To remove the skin of a soft fruit, such as a tomato or peach, by blanching briefly in boiling water, then transferring to cold water so that the skin peels, or slips, off easily.
  12. (obsolete) To omit; to lose by negligence.
    • And slip no advantage / That may secure you.1611, Ben[jamin] Jonson, Catiline His Conspiracy, London: […] [William Stansby?] for Walter Burre, →OCLC, (please specify the page)
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (transitive) To cut slips from; to cut; to take off; to make a slip or slips of.
    • to slip a piece of cloth or paper
    • The branches also may be slipped and planted.1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC
  2. (transitive) To cause to slip or slide off, or out of place.
    • A horse slips his bridle; a dog slips his collar.
  3. To bring forth (young) prematurely; to slink.
  4. (transitive) To cause (a schedule or release, etc.) to go, or let it go, beyond the allotted deadline.
    • We have been consistently slipping the product release schedules.2005, Raj Karamchedu, It's Not About the Technology
    • If you are going to slip the schedule, make it a big slip and make it early in your endgame effort so that your stakeholders can respond and adjust around you.2013, Robert Galen, Software Endgames

Noun (1)

slip (plural slips)

  1. An act or instance of slipping.
    • I had a slip on the ice and bruised my hip.
  2. A woman's undergarment worn under a skirt or dress to conceal unwanted nudity that may otherwise be revealed by the skirt or dress itself; a shift.
  3. A slipdress.
  4. A mistake or error.
    • a slip of the tongue
    • This good man's slip mended his pace to martyrdom.1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI)
  5. A berth; a space for a ship to moor.
  6. A difference between the theoretical distance traveled per revolution of the propeller and the actual advance of the vessel.
  7. A slipway.
  8. A one-time return to previous maladaptive behavior after cure.
    Synonyms:
    lapse
  9. Any of several fielding positions to the off side of the wicket keeper, designed to catch the ball after being deflected from the bat; a fielder in that position (See first slip, second slip, third slip, fourth slip and fifth slip.)
    • He took a screamer at slip.
  10. A number between 0 and 1 that is the difference between the angular speed of a rotating magnetic field and the angular speed of its rotor, divided by the angular speed of the magnetic field.
  11. A leash or string by which a dog is held; so called from its being made in such a manner as to slip, or become loose, by relaxation of the hand.
    • We stalked over the extensive plains with Killbuck and Lena in the slips, in search of deer.1852, Samuel Baker, The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon
  12. An escape; a secret or unexpected desertion.
    • He gave the warden the slip and escaped from the prison.
    • This morning I made a slip from the Office to White Hall.1669 February 13 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “February 4th, 1668–1669”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume...
Show 15 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (dated) A portion of the columns of a newspaper, etc., struck off by itself; a proof from a column of type when set up and in the galley.
  2. (dated) A child's pinafore.
  3. An outside covering or case.
    • a pillow slip
    • the slip or sheath of a sword
  4. (obsolete) A counterfeit piece of money, made from brass covered with silver.
    • ROMEO:[…]Good morrow to you both. What counterfeit did I give you?
      MERCUTIO:The slip, sir, the slip. Can you not conceive?c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  5. Matter found in troughs of grindstones after the grinding of edge tools.
    • the Grindstone, commonly called Slipp, is used to the same purpose in dying of Silks.1667, William Petty, An apparatus to the history of the common practices of dying
  6. A particular quantity of yarn.
  7. (UK, dated) A narrow passage between buildings.
  8. Either side of the gallery in a theater.
    • The gallery contains nine rows of seats, besides those in the slips.1826, Edward Wedlake Brayley, Historical and Descriptive Accounts of the Theatres of London, page 65
  9. (US) A long seat or narrow pew in churches, often without a door.
  10. A dislocation of a lead, destroying continuity.
  11. The motion of the centre of resistance of the float of a paddle wheel, or the blade of an oar, through the water horizontally, or the difference between a vessel's actual speed and the speed it would have if the propelling instrument acted upon a solid; also, the velocity, relatively to still water, of the backward current of water produced by the propeller.
  12. The difference between the actual and synchronous speeds of an induction motor.
  13. The positional displacement in a sequence of transmitted symbols that causes the loss or insertion of one or more symbols.
  14. A fish, the sole.
  15. (crosswording) A newsletter produced by the setter of a cryptic clue-writing competition, containing a full list of winners and commentary on the clues.
    • After about a dozen competitions someone suggested that a slip should be sent round to those who applied for it, containing in full the clues of all prizewinners and of those highly commended (there was only room for the first prizewinner’s clue in the paper).1966, Ximenes, Ximenes On The Art Of The Crossword
    • Manley is also a regular at the top of the Azed slip. As the two men talked, they quoted memorable clues as if they were lines of poetry.2009 June 23, Dean Olsher, From Square One: A Meditation, with Digressions, on Crosswords, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN

Noun (2)

slip (plural slips)

  1. A twig or shoot; a cutting.
    • a slip from a vine
    • "So much for auguries," said Emily, pointing to a young geranium, which was growing in vigour below. "The day before I left home, I planted that slip, and, in idea, linked my futurity with the slight shrub, saying, If it flourishes, so shall I—if it dies, I shall die too. See how luxuriantly it...1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIX, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 322
  2. (obsolete) A descendant, a scion.
    • a native slip to us from foreign seedsc. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  3. A young person (now usually with of introducing descriptive qualifier).
    • She couldn't hurt a fly, young slip of a girl that she is.
  4. A long, thin piece of something.
    • Never, nevermore / Shall lone Œnone see the morning mist / Sweep thro' them—never see them overlaid / With narrow moonlit slips of silver cloud, / Between the loud stream and the trembling stars.1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “Œnone”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 62
  5. A small piece of paper, especially one longer than it is wide, typically a form for writing on or one giving printed information.
    • a salary slip
  6. (marine insurance) A memorandum of the particulars of a risk for which a policy is to be executed. It usually bears the broker's name and is initiated by the underwriters.

Noun (3)

slip (countable and uncountable, plural slips)

  1. A thin, slippery mix of clay and water.
    • The Wasserpfeife or water-whistle from Moravia was a bird whistle made during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. […] The bird is of a grey and brown mottled glaze with sgraffito markings and touches of green slip.1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 172
  2. (obsolete) Mud, slime.

Also used as

slip is also the clipping of sideslip.

slip meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

slip in Hindi

to lose one's traction
फिसलना phisalnā
small piece of paper
चिट्ठी ciṭṭhī

slip in Tamil

to lose one's traction
வழுக்கு vaḻukku

slip in Marathi

स्लिप

slip in Urdu

پھسلنا, پھسلن, سلپ
More languagesFewer languages
slip in Bengali
স্লিপ
slip in Telugu
జారు jāru, పొరబడు porabaḍu, చీటీ cīṭī
slip in Malayalam
സ്ലിപ്പ്, സ്ലിപ്
slip in Kannada
ಸ್ಲಿಪ್, ಸ್ಲಿಪ್ ಮಾಡಿ
slip in Punjabi
ਸਲਿੱਪ
slip in Gujarati
લપસવું lapasvũ
slip in Odia
ସ୍ଲିପ୍
slip in Assamese
পিচলা pisola
slip in Nepali
स्लिप, पर्ची
slip in Tagalog
dumulas
slip in Arabic
اِنْزَلَقَ inzalaqa
slip in Indonesian
terpeleset, slip
slip in Thai
หลุดออก, ไถล tà-lǎi, ลื่น lʉ̂ʉn, พลั้งปาก
slip in Vietnamese
trượt
Sindhi
تِرڪَڻُ tirkaṇu

Examples of slip in a sentence

  • Thus one tradesman slips away, / To give his partner fairer play.1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber...
  • We slipped along the hedges, noiseless and swift […]1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
  • He has engaged me in a political debate, but when his politics are challenged he slips behind a smoke-screen of anti-intellectualism.1981 December 12, Scott Tucker, “Bring On The Cannon”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 21, page 5:
  • He was grey and had eight legs, and could travel anywhere and slip into any corner of 9 worlds.2020, Dagulf Loptson, Pagan Portals - Loki: Trickster and Transformer:

All 40 example sentences with slip

Synonyms of slip

4 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of slip

Forms of slip

Verb
third-person singular presentslips
present participleslipping
past participleslipped
pastslipped
past participle (obsolete)slipt
past (obsolete)slipt
Noun
pluralslips

Past tense of slip: slipped

Plural of slip: slips

Origin of slip

From Middle English slippen, probably from Middle Low German slippen, from Old Saxon *slippian, from Proto-West Germanic *slippjan, from Proto-Germanic *slipjaną (“to glide”), an iterative form of *slīpaną (“to slip, slide”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyb- (“slimy; to slide”). Possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *slewbʰ- (“slip, slide”), or related to Proto-Germanic *slībaną (“to split”); related to Old English slipor (“slippery”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian slipje (“to slip”), Dutch slippen (“to slip”), German Low German slippen.

Probably from Middle Dutch slippe or Middle Low German slippe, probably ultimately related to Proto-West Germanic *slīban (“to split”).

From Middle English slyp, slep, slyppe, from Old English slyp, slyppe, slipa (“a viscous, slimy substance”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-West Germanic *sleupan, from Proto-Germanic *sleupaną (“to slip, sneak”), possibly connected with Proto-Indo-European *slewb-, *slewbʰ- (“slip, slide”), from Proto-Indo-European *sel- (“to sneak, crawl”); or alternatively from Proto-Germanic *slippijaną (“to glide”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyb- (“slimy; to glide”). Compare Old English slūpan (“to slip, glide”), Old English cūslyppe, cūsloppe (“cowslip”).

Words formed from slip

Phrases with slip

70 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with slip

39 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about slip

What does slip mean?
Slip means to lose one’s traction on a slippery surface; to slide due to a lack of friction.
What is slip in Hindi?
Slip in Hindi is फिसलना (phisalnā), चिट्ठी (ciṭṭhī). See Slip meaning in Hindi.
How do you use slip in a sentence?
Thus one tradesman slips away, / To give his partner fairer play.
What part of speech is slip?
Slip can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce slip?
Slip is pronounced /ˈslɪp/.
What is the past tense of slip?
The past tense of slip is slipped.

Words near slip in the dictionary

  1. slinters
  2. sliotar
  3. sliotars
  4. sliothar
  5. sliothars
  6. slip
  7. slip and slide
  8. slip and slides
  9. slip away
  10. slip back
  11. slip box

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: slip (page history and authors); slip (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slip (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slip (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slip (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slip (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slip (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slip (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); slip (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-slip.ogg, en-au-slip.ogg.

Cite this entry: “slip.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/slip. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.