slide

The word “slide” means to move smoothly along a surface while staying in contact with it. In plain terms, to move smoothly across a surface — or, as a noun, a playground ride, a presentation page, or a microscope specimen holder.

“Slide” is pronounced SLYD (/ˈslaɪ̯d/ in IPA).

Here is “slide” used in a sentence: “The drawer slides open easily on its rails.”

Words with a similar meaning to “slide” include slider.

Depending on how it is used, “slide” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “slide” comes from Old English. From Old English slīdan, "to slide, glide" — an ancient Germanic verb related to a root meaning "slippery.".

“Slide” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Slide” has 5 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to move smoothly along a surface while staying in contact with it.

'Slide' means to move smoothly along a surface while staying in contact with it, often deliberately and in a controlled way. 'Slip' usually implies an accidental, sudden loss of footing or grip, so you slide down a banister on purpose but slip on ice by accident.

Beyond physical motion, 'slide' can mean to decrease gradually in amount, value, or quality, as in 'sales slid last quarter' or 'his grades began to slide'. This figurative sense carries a sense of a slow, often unwelcome decline.

'Slide' is irregular: its past tense and past participle are both 'slid', as in 'she slid the door open' and 'prices had slid'. The form 'slided' is not standard English.

Common combinations include 'slide down', 'slide into', 'slide along', and 'slide off'. In its figurative sense you often see 'slide into debt', 'slide back', or a currency that 'slides against' another.