slip1
v.
(slips, slipping, slipped)
- lose one's balance or footing and slide unintentionally for a short distance.
▸accidentally slide or move out of position or from someone's grasp.
▸fail to grip or make proper contact with a surface.
- pass gradually to a worse condition.
▸
(usu. slip up)
make a careless error.
- move or place quietly, quickly, or stealthily.
- escape or get loose from (a means of restraint).
▸fail to be remembered by (one's mind or memory).
▸release (a hunting dog) from restraint.
▸release (the clutch of a motor vehicle) slightly or for a moment.
- Knitting move (a stitch) to the other needle without knitting it.
- (of an animal) produce (dead young) prematurely; abort.
n.
- an act of slipping.
▸a sideways movement of an aircraft in flight.
▸Geology the relative horizontal displacement of corresponding points on either side of a fault plane.
- a minor or careless mistake.
- a loose-fitting garment, especially a short petticoat.
- Cricket a fielding position close behind the batsman on the off side.
- short for slipway.
- a leash which enables a dog to be released quickly.
Phrase
- give someone the slip
informal evade or escape from someone. - let something slip
- reveal something inadvertently in conversation.
- archaic release a hound from the leash to begin the chase.
- slip of the pen
(or the tongue)
a minor mistake in writing (or speech).
Derivative
Etymology
ME: prob. from Mid. Low Ger. slippen (v.); cf. slippery.
slip2
n.
- a small piece of paper for writing on or that gives printed information.
- a long, thin, narrow strip of wood or other material.
-
(a slip of a ——)
a small or slim young person:
a slip of a girl.
- Printing a printer's proof on a long piece of paper; a galley proof.
- a cutting taken from a plant for grafting or planting; a scion.
Etymology
ME: prob. from MDu., Mid. Low Ger. slippe ‘cut, strip’.
slip3
n.
a creamy mixture of clay, water, and typically a pigment of some kind, used for decorating earthenware.
Etymology
C17: of obscure origin; cf. Norw. slip(a) ‘slime’.